Category Archives: Methadone Maintenance

21st Century Cures Act





Methadone Clinics Offer Important Medical Service

methadone clinics medication assistanceThere are currently well over 1000 methadone clinics in operation across the United States and many more throughout the world. Methadone has been a leading treatment intervention for opioid addiction for more than 40 years. Methadone is an FDA-approved medication and it’s use in treating opioid addiction has been identified by SAMHSA as a best practice, evidence-based treatment approach.

Adding to the legacy of methadone as a successful treatment medium are the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have been able to totally eliminate the severe opioid withdrawal sickness that wrecked their lives. The value of this medical benefit is priceless.

The cost for participating in a methadone program varies from clinic to clinic and in part depends on whether the clinic receives any state funding or accepts Medicaid for payment. Many clinics operate as private practices funded primarily through patient self-payment. Private clinics often offer a substantial discount for patients that pay for a month of services in advance.

Due to methadone’s proven efficacy, many addicted people experience rapid relief from opiate withdrawal and find themselves eating and sleeping more normally, gaining weight, and able to work again. They are able to pursue other goals & responsibilities that had previously become too difficult in their active addiction.

Methadone is a powerful medication that must be taken as prescribed and in conjunction with good counseling. When a patient is willing to embrace medication-assisted treatment and to utilize it properly, recovery can happen. This life restoration process is demonstrated on a daily basis all around the country.

> Compare Different Opioid Addiction Treatments


Methadone Clinic North Dakota

methadone north dakotaIt was announced in June that North Dakota would be receiving its first methadone clinic. North Dakota and Wyoming are the only two states in the U.S. that have yet to provide a methadone treatment program for opioid addiction.

The region has suffered in recent years with an increase in the use of heroin and fentanyl, and with associated opioid overdoses. Kurt Snyder is the Executive Director of the new clinic, Heartview Foundation. Mr. Snyder echoed the research-based evidence showing that medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction provides superior results to abstinence-only treatment interventions.

In the article linked above from The Jamestown Sun, a local police detective indicated that the addiction problem had recently worsened in North Dakota as a result of the price of drugs dropping.

The Heartview Foundation clinic will also offer buprenorphine and naloxone in addition to methadone thus providing a more complete range of medication assisted therapies. Therapeutic counseling and mental health treatment will be a component of the Heartview program as well as drug testing.

Of particular benefit too is the recent initiative in North Dakota that will allow pharmacists the ability to prescribe naloxone so that opioid overdoses can hopefully be greatly reduced. The ready accessibility of naloxone is receiving a nationwide push as communities struggle to address overdose concerns.

Methadone.US welcomes a new addition to the featured clinics here on the site with the listing of BrookStone Medical Center in St. George, Utah.

President Proposes Funding Increase for Treating Opioid Addiction

funding drug treatmentPresident Obama recently attended the National Prescription Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. Professionals and concerned citizens used the forum to explore ways to address America’s rising opioid addiction problem.

The President agreed that increased funding is needed to raise access to drug treatment in an effort to simply avoid incarcerating those addicted to heroin and other potentially deadly opioids.

The NBC article referenced here states that over 28,000 people died last year from opioid overdose in the United States. This number has quadrupled since 1999. Many of the overdoses occur from various opioids laced with a powerful prescription pain killer called fentanyl.

Methadone and buprenorphone (the active ingredient in suboxone) are the leading medications used in medication-assisted treatment approaches. Naloxone is another important medication which has been used to reverse opioid overdose. It has saved thousands of lives and is being widely adopted by first responders and police departments across the country due to its proven effectiveness.

President Obama expressed that the U.S. will move toward improved drug treatment access for opioid addicted individuals and that the issue of addiction will be dealt with more as a public health issue as opposed to strictly a criminal act. Included in the proposed legislation is doubling the patient limit such that doctors can treat up to 200 people with buprenorphine (suboxone). The current patient limit is 100.

The Department of Health and Human Services is reported to have committed another $94 million to community health centers to boost their provision of medication-assisted treatment in poor and isolated communities. Many rural areas of the U.S. have very limited availability of opioid addiction services.

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PBS Special on Heroin Addiction in America





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