Sunday, September 7, 2008

More truths About Methadone

From an actual clean and sober addict comes this important email. Please read it and understand how evil this sham is.

Hello,
I did quite a bit of research into the history of methadone programs and I found some interesting stuff.
The first methadone "maintenance" program in the world started in Vancouver in 1963. Prior to this there were other programs for methadone "withdrawal" programs already in operation in other countries but no maintenance programs, some say the first was in New York, but my research shows the first was most likely here.
Good old doc Halliday (Dr. Robert Halliday) from Vancouver applied to Ottawa and received the okay to start a methadone withdrawal program in Vancouver, the first in Canada in 1959-60. True to the roots of harm reduction, he applied to Ottawa to change the program from a "withdrawal" program to a "maintenance" program within a year of getting the withdrawal program up and running.
It seems that once the good doctor had his foot in the door with the approval from Health Canada for his withdrawal program , he immediately started to push for the envelope for change to a maintenance program, which took abstinece as the priority, out of the concept. Harm reductions been alive here for a long time. eh, half a century now.
I know from personal experience, that years ago, if an addict on the program tested dirty for other drugs they were removed from the program after a couple fo dirty tests, now I ahve learned that after every screw up they just give them more methadone, they think the problem is just not enough methadone. It has morphed into one of the worst of all harm reduction initiatives and it is more liberally applied here than almost anywhere else.
From a clean and sober heroin addicts perpective, it is the wost of all drugs. Coming off heroin is like a mild to mid range flu for 4-5 days, coming off methadone is excruciating pain for up to a month in most cases, even walking is very painful, the only thing to cause the pain to dimish is lots of hot baths. Methadone gets in the bones and detox is the worst of any drug, if you will notice how crippled and broken and hunched over addicts are on the DTES, they are mostly the ones who have been on methadone for years.
Now we see if the paper what I have known for years, but you get the watered down story, girls have told me about sexual favours for methadone and guys fencing hot good for there methadone, it is an evil empire, that harm reduction, junkie industry. 54 million is just for the drugs and dispensing fees, that's just the tip of the proverbial ice-berg, the regular doctors visits just to check in with the doc to keep the free legal dope coming and, overdose call outs from poly-use including methadone interactions and on and on.
Also, those on methadone are considered medically sick so they quailfy for almost a thousand bucks as month on the dole as they are considered eligible for welfare disabilty, I know of people who have went on the program just for the, almost double, welfare rates.
The real sad story is the doctors are putting non addicts on it now for long term pain relief for chronic pain, you will hear real horror stories about this in the not too distant future.
Hopefully the talking heads in Ottawa and Victoria will see the light, I hold out hope for Ottawa, but not so much for Victoria and absolutely none for the city of Vancouver.
Barry
PS The new community court isn't so new, they are doing almost exactly the same thing they did when they tried to adopt the "Drug Court Program" from the states in 2001. Predictably they will once again take a program that has had success south of the border and bring it here and put their "professional" harm reduction twist on it and render it ineffective, just as they did with the drug court thing.
Whats wrong with throwing them in jail like they do other criminals, thats the only way many of us got straight long enough to take a sober look at our life and find the desire to change. All this harm seduction, enabling, caretaking and mollycoddling is the exact opposite of what addicts need.
I was on the community consultation committe for the drug court when it started up in 2001, I was pretty hopeful and excited at first, like some are now for the new community court but I quickly lost hope as it's all based on harm promotion.. I mean reduction. Maybe Justice Gove will see through the b.s., I don't know


My Weekend

and well into Monday...

The Methadone Scandals


In an excellent follow-up to the Courier's expose of methadone, the Province this morning ells us even more.

Today's piece by Susan Lazaruk is headlined:

Methadone kickbacks investigated

At least one pharmacy allegedly gave cash to addicts for prescriptions

None of that surprises me, but I must admit I was shocked to read that this province, which spends next to nothing on treatment, spends $54 Million a year of your taxpayer money on giving this synthetic drug to drug addicts.

What I have known for 40 years is 1) that methadone is 6 times as addictive as heroin and a nightmare to quit; and 2) 99% of all addicts who take "free" (to them, but not to you and me) methadone also use heroin and booze and drayno and anything else they can get their hands on each and every day.

There will be those among you who will claim that this - giving methadone - is better than nothing...and in saying that, you will reveal how little you understand of the nature of addicts and addictions.

Methadone is WAY WORSE than nothing.

It is one of the great ways that a lazy society has figured out how to keep addicts stupid and enslaved to their addictions.

And what about these righteous "professional" organizations - College of Pharmacists of B.C. and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which administers this sick program?

Are they enjoying their lifestyles and their families and sleeping well at night while they rob the public and keep stupid, vulnerable people locked in misery?

$54 Million. My god! I'm still reeling over that news.

Stephane, We hardly Knew You


If you check the hilarious results of my Prime Minister survey - in the right hand cloumn - you will see that NOBODY trusts Stephane Dion

I think I will take to calling him Le Petite Weasel.