Mailbag

A Call to Limit Property Taxes!

Jim Nintzel screwed up again! Well, he does have a point in
criticizing Clean Elections and locked-in increases in school spending
and health care; those were very bad ideas (“You Screwed Up!” May 28).
But voter-imposed term limits and making tax increases harder both
provide healthy protections for Arizona homeowners.

Although Nintzel probably won’t approve, and teachers’ unions and
bureaucrats will be apoplectic, Arizona citizens may soon have an
opportunity to really limit homeowner property taxes. Check out
www.Prop13Arizona.com.

Ed Nelson

People Like Schroeder, Nielsen Keep the Peace Movement
Strong

Thanks to Gretchen Nielsen for her Guest Commentary (June 4) on the
amazing life of longtime peace activist Betty Schroeder. With our
government still doing its damnedest to sell us endless war, the folks
who aren’t buying it may be inspired by Betty’s story to take
“immediate nonviolent action” for peace.

Despite scant media attention, there are opportunities to do so in
many parts of Tucson. Since 2003, there has been a demonstration every
Wednesday from 8 to 9 a.m. at the military recruiting office at
Speedway Boulevard and Wilson Avenue, site of the Raging Grannies’ 2005
arrest. Peace protesters have been gathering downtown at the federal
building for more than 20 years. The vigil takes place every Thursday
from 5 to 6 p.m. Women in Black hold a vigil at Speedway and Euclid
Avenue every Friday, also from 5 to 6 p.m. Information is available at
any of these events about scheduled monthly protests at Raytheon and
the gates of Davis-Monthan. Information about other events may be found
at peacecalendar.org.

Peace activism may go in and out of vogue, but dedicated people like
Betty Schroeder and Gretchen Nielsen make sure that it never goes
away.

Kim Mathews

Treatment Center: Methadone Can Be an Effective Tool in Battling Opioid Addiction

We would like to thank Jodi Franklin for bringing the subject of
methadone clinics to the public eye (“Clinical Addiction,” Currents,
May 14). It is difficult for patients and their loved ones to deal with
the disease of opioid addiction.

We must respond to some of the comments about addiction, methadone
and opioid-addiction-treatment centers in order to better inform the
public. Many patients afflicted with opioid dependence feel guilty
about their treatment or fear that their loved ones won’t understand.
Hopefully, clearing up some of these myths and misinformation will help
people with opioid dependence seek the treatment they need and support
they deserve.

Methadone is used in medically assisted detoxification or treatment
maintenance for persons with opioid addiction. Methadone is an opiate,
so it can be addictive. But methadone is a long-acting opiate that
allows a person to function free of withdrawal and, carefully
administered, is an effective treatment option. When someone is stable
on methadone, they will not experience the highs of short-acting
opiates and won’t experience the lows or physiological withdrawal. The
patient can then concentrate on regaining a healthy life rather than
thinking about or having to get their next “fix.” Research has shown
that methadone treatment is the gold standard for opioid addiction. It
is allowed to be dispended at specially licensed and regulated clinics,
because it lessens the spread of communicable diseases, decreases
crime, and increases stable employment, parenting and school
performance.

Because methadone is addictive, federal guidelines are very strict
about who is eligible to enter a methadone-maintenance program, and how
these programs run. Other treatment options may be more appropriate for
a patient who has not been addicted for at least a year and/or has not
relapsed.

Methadone clinics may appear to be a ball and chain for some
patients, but if clinics follow all the guidelines that have been put
in place to best help patients recover from addiction, it is an
affordable and effective treatment option. It has been shown that daily
attendance at a clinic during the early stages of recovery helps the
patient develop a routine, and daily monitoring allows staff to help
the patient stop using illicit opioids and prevent relapse, or at least
catch it early. A patient earns privileges (extra takeout bottles) when
their urine screens are free of illicit drugs. As they progress in
treatment, they meet other criteria for stability and are allowed more
privileges requiring less time spent at the clinic.

Methadone programs may vary, so it is appropriate to ask questions
to see if you are comfortable with the treatment available at each
individual clinic. Clinics should offer counseling as frequently as
necessary to achieve abstinence. Ask the clinic about their policy for
titrating methadone until a patient is stable, and tapering a patient
off of methadone. If done correctly, it is highly successful and free
of uncomfortable and serious withdrawal symptoms. Long-term methadone
treatment may be the appropriate and effective option for
certain patients who hope to avoid relapse, but for many patients,
short-term treatment (up to a year) along with counseling, relapse
prevention and long-term group support is effective.

There are many successful patients who have struggled with opioid
addiction who have successfully completed programs and are quietly
living happy, healthy lives.

Dr. Larry G. Onate and the ETANO Center staff

This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2009.