It has been estimated that as of 2004, almost one million people in
             the United States are addicted to heroin. The burden on the Public Health
             community is not only related to the drug addiction but also to the high
             rate of associated morbidity and mortality from things like HIV/AIDS,
             Hepatitis B and C and other diseases.
             For a long time there has been two different schools of thought
             regarding the treatment of opiate addiction - abstinence based therapeutic
             communities versus methadone maintenance. I have done some reading and it
             is my opinion that methadone maintenance treatment appears to be the most
             effect treatment to get people off and keep people off heroin.
             Methadone is very helpful in that it blocks the craving for opiates in
             the brain as well as blocking the euphoric and sedating effects of opiates.
             The benefits of opiate replacement with methadone allow the patient to
             have stable, once per day dosing and reduce the risk over overdosing and
             the transmission of needle or sexually transmitted diseases. Patients on
             methadone maintenance show a better level of family stability, improved
             pregnancy outcomes and have been shown to be very cost effective.
             It must be noted that many patients who are on Methadone maintenance
             therapy often continue to use heroin or other drugs even after admission to
             treatment. It is important that these patients continue to receive
             intensive supportive intervention in the way of counseling and therapeutic
             community services in addition to their methadone treatment so they can
             achieve the optimal chance for sobriety and reduced drug use.
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