Whatcom County needs more treatment options
(cont'd) Methadone treatment programs are also much more cost-effective than maintaining someone in jail for a drug offense. The programs cost approximately $13 per day and show a 4-to-1 benefit-to-cost ratio, which means $4 in economic benefits are created for every $1 spent on the program, according to the ONDCP Web site.
Many opponents of the clinics see them as simply a state-sanctioned form of heroin, a way to substitute one drug dependency for another. Some believe that the only way to get clean is to quit in a conventional 12-step progression.
Shoemaker said she disagrees with this limited outlook. The process of rehabilitation is often cyclical rather than linear, and some addicts can take up to seven attempts to really get clean. This means programs should work with each individual to help that person get clean on terms they can work with while reducing the harm they do to themselves, whether it is through a needle exchange or a methadone clinic.
“It doesn’t mean we don’t have to be responsible,” Shoemaker said of programs that embrace harm-reduction practices. “Because we do.”
Sidebars:
The Exchange Process by Zoe Fraley—>
Vignette: The gift of hope by Zoe Fraley—>
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