HOPE FOR HEROIN ADDICTS

A Cheaper Treatment Is Available To Wean The Addict Off The Drug,
Write Azura Abas And David Yeow

THE use of methadone to wean addicts off drugs has seen high success
rates -- up to nearly 90 per cent in the case of heroin addiction.

However, many are still sceptical of its effectiveness as they feel
it is wrong to replace a drug with another. "It is just like treating
diabetics who need their daily dose of medication to control their
disease," said Prof Dr Rusli Ismail from the Institute for Research
in Molecular Medicine, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Methadone, he
explained, would reduce the craving for addictive substances and was
effective in eliminating withdrawal symptoms such as abdominal
cramps, diarrhoea, sleeping difficulty, restlessness and joint pains.

This was done without the euphoric effect on the methadone users, he
said. While there was no single effective treatment for the
management of opioid dependence, Dr Rusli said methadone treatment
had repeatedly been documented as the single most effective treatment
for heroin addiction. He described methadone as a normalising
medication and not simply a substitute for heroin. "Instead of
destabilising the individual as heroin does, methadone stabilises the
patient and facilitates a return to productive functioning," he said
at a recent briefing to dispel the misconception about methadone.

Putting drug addicts on methadone, he said, would be an effective
exercise to check the practice of needle sharing among drug users.
"Needle sharing is the main cause of HIV infection among Malaysians.
The price we have to pay later will be astronomical. "If two million
of the population suffer from HIV, we have to spend billions on
medication alone." Present at the briefing were Malaysian Psychiatric
Association president Professor Dr Mohamad Hussain Habil, Malaysia
Insaf Murni Association vice-president Dr Mohd Khafidz Mohd Ishak and
general practitioner Dr Musa Jantan. On claims that some doctors were
charging addicts high fees for methadone treatment , Dr Mohamad
Hussain said the victims should report them to the Malaysian Medical Council.

"So far, we have not received any report on such claim," he said. Dr
Musa said at his clinic in Malacca, he would reduce the treatment
price in stages as an incentive for drug addicts in the programme who
had shown positive development like putting on weight and
consistently turning up for consultation.

Dr Khafiz said he offered free consultation to the drug addicts.
"Taking methadone is cheaper than trying to support one's heroin
habit. The price of a packet of heroin is about RM90 in Kajang, and
RM120 in Kuala Lumpur. "If you are on methadone, you only have to pay
between RM15 and RM25 per day," he said.

Dr Mohamad Hussain added that it was cheaper to undergo the methadone
treatment in which one only had to spend about RM400 a month compared
with the monthly bill of about RM3,000 per head to treat drug addicts
at rehabilitation centres.

Beating the addiction and staying ahead WHEN Salema, 38, tried heroin
for the first time, it was not out of curiosity or vice. It was out
of love. "During the first eight years of my marriage, my husband and
I barely spoke. He was an addict and he spent most of his time high
in his room," she said. Wanting to rekindle the romance, Salema
decided to join her husband in his habit. From then on, everything
changed. Initially, everything seemed better than perfect. Her
relationship with her husband rocketed to an all time high.

Even her work performance improved. "With drugs, I was always
energetic, never needing to take breaks. I was even named the best
employee of Public Finance that year," Salema said. However, Salema
confessed that as her world looked perfect on the outside, she was
slowly dying on the inside. Her dependency on heroin grew and soon
she began to chase after other drugs. "My big plunge came when my
husband was arrested in 1998. All the while I was using his stash but
suddenly I had to buy my own. I had become an active user."

Salema's life started to crumble as her drug habit depleted her
savings and started to eat into other parts of her life. She suffered
tremendous weight loss and was no longer cheerful or energetic. When
people noticed the change, she lied that it was due to her husband
being in prison. "The truth was that I could not care less about
anything else except getting high. I was at a point where I needed a
fix every four hours," she said.

Her addiction devolved to the point where it was no longer about
getting high but survival. "My bones felt like breaking, my head felt
like bursting and I literally felt my life being drained out of me
every time my craving came. I had to get my fix just to stop the
agony," said Salema.

After being in and out of prison five times in two years, Salema knew
that conventional rehabilitation was useless for her. Concerned
family members introduced her to all forms of treatment, modern and
traditional, but all failed.

"I was even strapped on to a straight-jacket to help me go cold
turkey and fed strong medication afterwards. But still my addiction
remained. "One day my parents read about methadone and decided to
give it a try. "I was sceptical at first because the treatment seemed
so mild compared to the other ones I had been through," she said.

Hours after her first dosage, Salema felt different. Not only was she
not craving for drugs, her body did not feel like dying as well. For
the first time in 10 years, Salema felt alive. After two weeks of
methadone treatment, Salema started to gain weight.

Having remarried now, her second husband (also a drug addict then)
started to notice a change. "At first, I thought it was a hoax. I did
not believe that by drinking a cough mixture look-a-like, I would be
addiction free for three days," said Mohd Shaz, 39.

"I had previously been on drugs for 15 years. Based on my own
experiences, methadone seemed like foolishness," he said. Shaz was so
convinced by his first treatment that he could not wait to return for
his second dose in hopes that it would rid him of his addiction forever.

"It works. All I know is that before methadone I was barely surviving
but today I feel so alive," said Shaz, who now works as a lorry
driver. "Today I can start earning an honest living again and rejoin
society as a fully functional human being." Salema, too, has rejoined
the work force and now earns a living as a tuition teacher for
primary school kids. Another subscriber to the methadone treatment is
Faizal, a 55-year-old college lecturer.

"I felt like such a hypocrite, being an educator and yet needing to
call for five minute breaks to have a fix when teaching," he said.
Faizal was once a famous math teacher, having his own show on TV Pendidikan.

He attributed his drug habit to mixing with bad friends during his
days at Universiti Sains Malaysia. "I have been bound by addiction
for 35 years. I hated not being in control and in bondage to drugs
but still I could not control myself," said Faizal.

It was only in November 2006 that Faizal started his methadone
treatment and according to him, life has been better ever since. "All
this while I have been carrying a facade of respect but hopefully
through methadone, I can regain my self respect one day."