It has been more than forty two years since Dr. Marie Nyswander and Vincent P. Dole, a husband and wife team, announced a scientific breakthrough which was considered, at that time, the most advanced step in the American Medical community. This advanced discovery was a synthetic drug that would enhance medical supervision of drug addicts and their heroin addiction. Dole and Nyswander indicated that the use of methadone by heroin addicts appeared to alleviate their hunger for heroin, thus reducing the necessity for crime against property; and the need for addicted individuals to enlist new converts to the drug culture. "Methadonia," a documentary by filmmaker, Michel Negroponte, recently aired on HBO created a renewed interest in the synthetic opiate methadone. During the 1960's methadone was used primarily to block the euphoric effect of heroin addiction and to alleviate the symptoms of withdrawl from heroin. Mr. Negroponte's film focused mainly on recovering addicts at the New York Center for Addition Treatment Services, which is located on Broadway at Houston Street.
The 90 minutes film followed the addicts through their murky world of addiction while respecting their efforts to stay clean. The film also shows how methadone can lead to an addiction worse than heroin or other addictive drugs. The documentary highlighted a trend in which methadone users often develop secondary additions to prescription drugs. These prescription drugs, combined with methadone, produce a euphoric rush and, too often, an addiction that is more life-threatening than caused by heroin addiction. Before proceeding further, my readers should understand what methadone is. Methadone is a synthetic chemical discovered by Germany during World War II, when their supply of pain killing opiates were in short supply. Today, in some instances, it continues to be used as a pain-killer. Methadone is addictive as is all other opiates such as heroin, demerol, morphine, barbituates, and alcohol. Therefore, abuse or over-use of these drugs will result in two major consequences; (1) systemic bodily tolerance, and (2) specific physical withdrawal symptoms that occur with discontinued use.
Since the discovery of methadone, the treatment of drug addiction in the United States has reached the level of mega business. It is now an intrinsical part of the Nation's economy, and becoming more entrenched each day. In the process, the intimate doctor/patient relationship originally sought in the methadone clinic been overturned. In its place is the current interest in Medicaide reimbursement; client's return visits, and policing clients for strict adherence to drug abstinence.
Unintended, Unforeseen Consequences in Society It would appear that the chemists, who discovered methadone, and those who introduced methadone to the United States in 1947, intended its use to ease the pain and suffering that was the by-product of war and injury. Dole and Nyswander intended goal was to used methadone to stem the tide of heroin addiction and its social ills in the United States. However, they could not foresee methadone someday being partly responsible for society's further deterioration, socially, economically, and, politically. This social phenomenon of unintended results of human action in society is described by sociologist, Max Weber, Robert Merton, and Robert Nisbet. The American sociologist Robert Merton refers to this concept as manifest and latent functions. The former are the desired and intended function of social processes, and the latter the unintended undesireable processes. Robert Nisbet, was most direct in explaining this theme:
The 90 minutes film followed the addicts through their murky world of addiction while respecting their efforts to stay clean. The film also shows how methadone can lead to an addiction worse than heroin or other addictive drugs. The documentary highlighted a trend in which methadone users often develop secondary additions to prescription drugs. These prescription drugs, combined with methadone, produce a euphoric rush and, too often, an addiction that is more life-threatening than caused by heroin addiction. Before proceeding further, my readers should understand what methadone is. Methadone is a synthetic chemical discovered by Germany during World War II, when their supply of pain killing opiates were in short supply. Today, in some instances, it continues to be used as a pain-killer. Methadone is addictive as is all other opiates such as heroin, demerol, morphine, barbituates, and alcohol. Therefore, abuse or over-use of these drugs will result in two major consequences; (1) systemic bodily tolerance, and (2) specific physical withdrawal symptoms that occur with discontinued use.
Since the discovery of methadone, the treatment of drug addiction in the United States has reached the level of mega business. It is now an intrinsical part of the Nation's economy, and becoming more entrenched each day. In the process, the intimate doctor/patient relationship originally sought in the methadone clinic been overturned. In its place is the current interest in Medicaide reimbursement; client's return visits, and policing clients for strict adherence to drug abstinence.
Unintended, Unforeseen Consequences in Society It would appear that the chemists, who discovered methadone, and those who introduced methadone to the United States in 1947, intended its use to ease the pain and suffering that was the by-product of war and injury. Dole and Nyswander intended goal was to used methadone to stem the tide of heroin addiction and its social ills in the United States. However, they could not foresee methadone someday being partly responsible for society's further deterioration, socially, economically, and, politically. This social phenomenon of unintended results of human action in society is described by sociologist, Max Weber, Robert Merton, and Robert Nisbet. The American sociologist Robert Merton refers to this concept as manifest and latent functions. The former are the desired and intended function of social processes, and the latter the unintended undesireable processes. Robert Nisbet, was most direct in explaining this theme:
