PANEL: METHADONE TREATMENT SHOULD BE MORE AVAILABLE

Labeling heroin addiction a "treatable disease," a panel of scientists is
urging the government to expand the availability of methadone treatment and
allow more doctors to dispense the synthetic narcotic.

The recommendation, to be published today in the Journal of the American
Medical Association, comes as the White House's drug policy office seeks to
boost money for methadone programs in next year's budget and is working
with other agencies to change the system for licensing clinics.

"I think that most political leaders have a strong interest in seeing crime
go down and productivity go up in their neighborhoods," said James
McDonough, chief strategist at the drug policy office. "You get that with
methadone treatment."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski