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Do Free Methadone Clinics Actually Help People Overcome Opioid Addiction?
Yes, free methadone clinics do actually help people overcome opioid addiction. These clinics were established to help opiate addicts receive comprehensive treatment despite low income. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there are over 2.4 million people addicted to some form of opiate or opioid drug. Many of these people live well below the poverty line. Free methadone clinics help these people get off opiates without the high costs of traditional methadone clinics.
What is a Free Methadone Clinic?
A free methadone clinic is a government funded or nonprofit clinic that provides methadone maintenance treatment to those who need it and cannot afford it. Many of them also offer comprehensive opiate addiction treatment including:
- medication assistance,
- methadone treatment,
- life skill classes,
- job skill training,
- individual counseling,
- group counseling, and
- medical care.
They do all of this at little or no cost depending on your income.
How does a Free Methadone Clinic Work?
Many free clinics offer life skill training.
Most free methadone clinics work off a sliding fee scale. It allows people who are low income to afford methadone treatment. When you go to a free methadone clinic, you need to produce documentation of your income. They then base their fees, if any, off how much you make.
This allows you to receive high quality treatment when:
- your insurance does not cover methadone treatment,
- you do not have insurance,
- you cannot otherwise afford methadone treatment, and
- you are in a lower income bracket.
These clinics are often barebones clinics with little or no amenities but they are reasonably affective. Methadone maintenance works by stopping the withdrawal symptoms and preventing cravings. This maintenance treatment can continue indefinitely to treat chronic pain or can be tapered off so the addict becomes completely drug free.
How do these Clinics Help with Addiction?
Methadone is a proven addiction treatment method for opioid addiction. Doctors have been using it since the 1960s to treat those with a severe addiction and those with chronic pain who cannot stop some form of painkiller. Most people on methadone treatment do not go back to opiates.
Free clinics help with opiate addiction by giving the under privileged and under insured cope with opiate addiction. They give people an alternative to high priced rehabs and other options.
Free methadone clinics also help stop the spread of blood borne diseases such as HIV. Since an addict can get their fix in another form they stop sharing needles with other addicts who might be affected.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, these clinics are governed by strict guidelines to prevent the misuse of methadone. These guidelines help to prevent:
- methadone abuse,
- methadone related deaths,
- opiate related deaths,
- needle sharing,
- infectious diseases, and
- methadone regulation issues.
For more information on how methadone maintenance clinics work or to find one near you call us at 1-800-994-1867Who Answers?. We are happy to provide you with any information you might need to beat your opiate addiction.