Is HARMD trying to BAN methadone? No. HARMD wants methadone to be safer for all patients. Currently Methadone is the #2 killer drug in the U.S. This is unacceptable for a legal drug that is being put on the streets by prescription. HARMD is advocating for tougher restrictions and proper assessment for all patients before induction and during methadone treatment. HARMD is also very concerned with diversion from clinics and pain patients. We are working with State Agencies, Federal Agencies and clinics to reduce diversion and polydrugging.

Will HARMD's efforts hurt those taking methadone correctly? No. HARMD's initiatives should not effect those people who are NOT abusing their Methadone.  HARMD is only targeting change to affect those who are abusing their methadone or physicians recklessly prescribing powerful opioids - perhaps due to substandard treatment delivery. 

The only people who die from methadone are abusing it.  FALSE methadone does not discriminate. It is mostly killing people within the first 10 days of taking initial dose. It is killing pain patients, clinic patients, detoxification patients, mostly young people who think they can get high from it, children whose parents are not correctly storing their methadone and innocent victims from car accidents being hit by people under the influence of methadone and other drugs.

Methadone is SAFE when used properly and under a doctors care. FALSE many doctors prescribing methadone are not aware of it's extremely long half live vs. it's short analgesic properties and cardiac risks. Methadone is dangerous when mixed with various prescription medications as well as over the counter cold medicines and even grapefruit juice. Methadone should ONLY be used as a last resort treatment for pain and addiction. Contrary to popular belief methadone is NOT dosed based on height/weight but rather an individuals level of tolerance which is basically subjective.

Methadone saved my life. False. You saved your life methadone is only a tool that is used as replacement therapy for opioid addiction. If you want to continue using drugs to get high you would as many still do while on methadone. Methadone is NOT a cure for addiction it is merely one of a range of available treatments that should be used prudently or as a last resort. As research increasingly bares out that methadone does carry a significantly greater risk of mortality than other opiates.

We are the families of victims and those yet to be victims of methadone. We have come together with other families throughout the United States who have lost loved ones to methadone. We would like to prevent any other family from the devastation we have experienced when our loved ones went to a doctor they trusted to relieve pain, went to a methadone clinic for help with an addiction, was given a "pain pill" from a trusted friend or just experimented with drugs.

We are asking government agencies to enact stricter guidelines in prescribing methadone for any reason. It must be mandatory that all doctors be certified and trained in the pharmacology of methadone; inpatient stays must be required during induction to methadone; all staff be extensively trained in monitoring methadone patients for symptoms of toxicity. Clinic patients should be tested for legal and illegal drugs that are taken with methadone to get “ high” or experience “euphoria” such as benzodiazepines, alcohol, cocaine, heroin etc… and face severe consequences / mandatory detoxification from methadone program when presenting inebriated at clinic, clinic should also document such activity as well as prevent client from driving. Take home doses for all patients receiving methadone should be eliminated thus preventing the risk of diversion or precautions such as pill safe should be implemented. http://www.thepillsafe.com/  

Current statistics show that nearly 4000 people a year die from methadone. These deaths are mostly happening to pain management and detoxification patients within the first 10 days of taking initial dose. Most of these deaths are related to methadone prescribed with other medications that react as additives with methadone. Diversion of methadone is a serious problem because it lands this most deadly drug on streets. Statistics also state that methadone is contributing to more deaths nationwide then heroine and cocaine.   The government did take notice after the 2003 record number of deaths associated with methadone and the Bush administration responded by gathering the top experts on drug overdoses, doctors, researchers, and medical examiners, as well as representatives from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Food and Drug Administration, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association. Finn and Tuckwiller (2006) report that “the man hired to research and write the report based on the conference, as well as background paper for conference participants, was Stewart B. Leavitt, an addiction specialist whose work is funded by the makers of methadone”. Stewart B. Leavitt PhD served as researcher/writer for A National Assessment of Methadone-Associated Mortality: Background Briefing Report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Stewart B Leavitt also writes Addiction Treatment Forum Methadone Dosing & Safety in the Treatment of Opioid Addiction which is funded by Mallinckrodt, Inc. a manufacturer of methadone. My question is why hasn't a team of independent researchers not funded by pharmaceutical companies; a person or group of people that stand to gain no financial benefit on the outcome of the studies been hired to conduct the research? Finn and Tuckwiller (2006) report that “the man hired to research and write the report based on the conference, as well as background paper for conference participants, was Stewart B. Leavitt, an addiction specialist whose work is funded by the makers of methadone”. Stewart B. Leavitt PhD served as researcher/writer for A National Assessment of Methadone-Associated Mortality: Background Briefing Report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Stewart B Leavitt also writes Addiction Treatment Forum Methadone Dosing & Safety in the Treatment of Opioid Addiction which is funded by Mallinckrodt, Inc. a manufacturer of methadone. On the forum associated with his website several of the clinic participants speak of diverting, misusing, stockpiling, selling, and potentiating methadone and other prescription drugs.  

This methadone epidemic and deaths associated with it are not going away. It's only getting worse; We are contacted by families on a daily basis who have lost someone to this drug. At what point do we value human life over the convenience of others? Methadone patients, whether they are pain or clinic pose a risk to themselves and society as a whole if they are not monitored, dosed, and assessed correctly. Clinic patients getting into cars after being dosed who are using benzodiazepines, alcohol, or other opiates are killing innocent people on the road. This type of harm reduction is not saving lives it’s taking them. The government cannot continue to be a legal drug dealer in order for its citizens to “behave”. Many MMT patients claim that they have been able to maintain sobriety for long periods of time (several years) but are unhappy and depressed therefore seek out MMT and describe the "high" they get from this is what makes them happy. They describe this phenomenon Endorphin Deficiency which is another "off-label" use of methadone. I have yet to be able to find this "diagnosis" listed in the DSM IV but I'm am sure there is a large percentage of the population that suffer from this as endorphin deficiency is precipitated not only by opiate abuse but also eating disorders, ADHD, low levels of neurotransmitter GABA, PMS, stress, MS, depression etc....

I know the rules are in place for the clinics and doctors but they are NOT being followed. Patients will sell take homes outside the clinics and many are actively using illegal and legal drugs while in so called recovery. Many "pain patients" are addicts in disguise who do not want to be dosed at clinics but will use and sell their medication or poly drug use. Many methadone addicts display flat emotion and periods of aggression. Studies show that long term MMT is also associated with cognitive impairment. I have compiled packages of first hand admissions from clinic patients regarding faking UA's, abusing other drugs, skimming from take homes, ways around the current clinic rules, how to get a pain doctor to prescribe methadone and which disorders to say you have that cannot be verified, other medications, vitamins, and drugs to take with methadone to get high. The list goes on and reinforces the belief of doctors and clinics being LEGAL DRUG DEALERS.

There is A LOT of money to be made from methadone but at what expense is that money being made? When do the risks outweigh the benefits of this drug? How many more people must die before changes are made that actually save lives?