METHADONE TREATMENT WORKING FOR ADDICTS IN MAINE

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Study: Methodone Treatment Working for Addicts in Maine

05/07/2010 10:53 AM ET

That's according to a new study released by Maine's Office of Substance Abuse, which indicates the treatment has significant benefits for patients as well as their families.

Abusers of heroin and other opiate-based drugs such as Oxycontin have been using Methadone for years to help them end their addiction, but does it work? Until recently, no studies had been done in Maine to answer that question. But Guy Cousins, the director of Maine's Office of Substance Abuse, says an analysis of data collected last year from more than a thousand users of methadone treatment in the state indicate that the treatment is working -- and working dramatically. "Primary use of the drug of their primary choice decreased from 85 percent to five percent, which is -- it's just an astronomical number, and it's great," he says. "And it shows that the intervention of methodone as a medication to help them manage their addiction is significantly functional." Cousins say the data shows a broad impact not only on the patients, but on their families as well: He says those undergoing methodone treatment are more likely to have their children living with them and they are more likely to be working, at least part time.