World Anti-DrugTransnational Internet contest - "Maya"

We know that in some countries, methadone is widely used as a substitute drug in the treatment of drug addiction. Being similar with opiates in effect on the human body, nevertheless it can maintain the efficiency in oral use. In addition it does not cause such a strong euphoria that allows a person to perform social functions.

All these qualities are the reason that a number of countries have launched programs for voluntary transfer of addicts from opiates to methadone, presenting it as the lesser of two evils, and providing invaluable assistance to those who are unable to quit using drugs on their own. After signing up for the program, the addict receives a daily dose of methadone in the clinic and uses it in the presence of a doctor. As a result, drug addicts get back to the society and can again become a part of it; they lose the need for constant search of money for a dose. Legal production ensures no toxic impurities in the product, and the danger of the spread of diseases through needle sharing comes to nothing.

However, a few years after the introduction of the methadone programs, the number of deaths associated with the use of methadone has increased drastically. The widespread use of the drug in medicine provided an access to the illicit market, and the abuse without medical supervision made methadone even more dangerous than heroin. Besides, methadone is easier and cheaper to produce than heroin, which provides a significant spread in the illegal trafficking of poor-quality "street" methadone that contains highly toxic impurities.

Chronic methadone dependence is characterized by respiratory depression, brachycardia, hyperglycemia, cramps, high fever and pressure, and a number of other physiological symptoms. The use of methadone is associated with death of Kurt Cobain and Anna Nicole Smith.

All this, of course, does not mean that treatment programs for opioid dependence with methadone should be closed. For many, they remain the only way to stop using drugs. However, many of the existing rules need to be reviewed, and the control over the distribution and storage of methadone should be hardened.