State ‘creating methadone addicts’

THE State’s reliance on methadone to wean users off heroin means many addicts are never given the opportunity to get off drugs completely, a treatment expert at a leading residential clinic has warned.

Gerry Cooney, treatment co-ordinator at the 25-year-old Rutland Centre in Dublin, said the use of methadone may mean there is reduction in harm to society but not to the individual.

“Abstinence is something a lot of people would strive for if they were given the opportunity,” said Mr Cooney, who claimed a lack of energy, financial support and collective will has created a underclass of methadone addicts.