One of the boons for heroin addicts is the chance to get off the drug and the risks that come from injections by getting on a methadone replacement program. But recent legal actions might make this less available.
The lawyers are investigating two tracks here. The first is when a patient complains that they are not getting treatment for drug addiction while in a methadone program. There is some legitimacy here because all treatment centers are supposed to teach behavioral therapy and attempt to wean patients off methadone once they've managed to distance themselves from heroin.
How much of a problem is it? Hard to say. A license to dispense methadone is only given to doctors who pursue additional training in addiction and treatment for addicts. But if the money is in the numbers of patients you can enroll and keep on methadone, the behavioral therapy may take a back seat -- at least that is the temptation.
The other type of lawsuit is aimed directly at the drug itself. There is no doubt that methadone is a powerful narcotic. It has to be to replace heroin. But powerful narcotics come with side effects, primarily breathing suppression that can be fatal. When used inappropriately, there are real risks.
Some doctors have been switching patients who aren't really stabilized on high-dose opioids to methadone and that can have tragic results. If a patient reports one level of use and lies about it to get more methadone, they put themselves at risk of an overdose.
Lawsuits have been filed but I haven't seen either of these two attacks pay off in claims. Clinics might settle out of court with a secrecy rider. After all, they wouldn't want the public to know that they paid a malpractice claim, even if they don't believe they were entirely at fault.
It would be a shame if this avenue of treatment went away because of lawsuits. It could happen. It's happened for many other drugs.
