DON'T FEAR METHADONE

EDITOR: Johnson City residents need not fear a downtown methadone clinic.

Methadone maintenance is the most effective known treatment for heroin
addiction. It's also a viable treatment for synthetic opiates like
OxyContin. Methadone staves off potentially deadly withdrawal symptoms, but
does not produce a high that prevents patients from living productive lives.

Methadone maintenance programs have been proven to reduce drug use and
related crime, death, and disease among chronic drug users.

Addicts would not be sharing needles if not for zero tolerance laws that
restrict access to clean syringes, nor would they be committing crimes to
support their habits if not for artificially inflated black market prices.

Methadone maintenance is a prime example of harm reduction, an alternative
approach to drug policy and treatment that seeks to minimize the adverse
effects of both drug use and drug prohibition. America's drug problem is
far too serious to allow zero tolerance to dominate the debate at the
expense of public health.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 57% of
AIDS cases among women are linked to injection drug use or sex with
partners who inject drugs.

Overall, 36% of AIDS cases in the United States can be traced back to
intravenous drug use. This easily preventable public health crisis is a
direct result of zero tolerance. Criminalizing illegal drug use compounds
the problem. Would alcoholics seek help for their addiction if doing so
were tantamount to confessing to criminal activity? Drug abuse is bad, but
the zero tolerance drug war is worse.

ROBERT SHARPE, M.P.A., Program Officer

Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.