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Opioid overdoses have been on the rise in L.A. County at an alarming rate over the past few years. We can complain all we want that addicts need treatment, but that doesn’t matter when they’re taking their last few breaths. Most of them had gone into a treatment program at least once or attended 12 Step meetings, and they didn’t recover. Detox and counseling wasn’t enough for them.

Oddly enough, there are many individuals in the addiction treatment profession and support groups that refuse to accept that many addicts need another way to survive their addiction. They suggest that one is either in recovery or using, and there is nothing in between. Addicts that take advantage of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) using Methadone or Suboxone Maintenance are often scolded for “using”.

What they don’t understand is that there is not just one bump on the road to recovery. The first one is a big one where addicts need to build a motivational foundation for recovery. Most can’t get over that obstacle so they go back to using. Maintenance reduces cravings and is not a means of getting high, which gives addicts a boost over that bump and a break where they can build motivation.

Overdose rates for opioids were rising for heroin and prescription painkillers nationwide from 2010 to 2015, but they were cut in half for Methadone. And it’s a lot easier to OD on Methadone due to its long half-life, but it’s safe when administered by a medical professional. The problem isn’t Maintenance. It’s that addicts are being convinced that Maintenance is a problem.

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