[AM1]

Hiya, that colour scheme is a bit crazy!

I know you're not having a go, just a healthy debate.

The infrastructure in which to implement a scheme like this is crucial to it's success, so your questions about environmental control are well placed.

What you need to understand is that Methadone has a 36 hour action and is prescribed within the controlled drug guidelines, which means that a maximum of 14 days dosage is put on the script then lodged at the pharmacy. The user then has to visit that pharmacy daily for Methadone. Heroin has a different action, this is down to different agonist/antagonist properties in the chemical components of these drugs.

I agree that these drugs should probably not be given on a "take away" basis, the potential for abuse is considerable. But the implications of removing the drug dealer out of the equation are also considerable.

On the issue of drug rehabilitation, there are drugs available that can facilitate rapid heroin detoxification without massive withdrawal but these cost relatively large amounts of money as opposed to Methadone. A bottle of Methadone can cost as little as £5 to produce.

But if the long term financial analysis and return on investment was done properly, the overall financial and social return on paying for proper detoxification is significant. If you take addicts off heroin in the right manner and get them back to constructive lifes, the burden of paying for crime, court cases and imprisonment disappears AND they may well become taxpayers. But they must really want to do it and part of that is getting them into the medical system in the first place and exploring the rehabilitation options. That generally doesn't happen in the current system because of the hit up/come down/rob someone/go to dealer repeating cycle AND the knowledge that they will have to do cold turkey.

A large component of drug dependence (not psychological addiction) is the fear of the physical withdrawal and this is what perpetuates the drug cycle most commonly, so getting these people into the medical setting is the first step in breaking the drug-related crime cycle down. The first stage, that of prescribing legal heroin, immediately removes the need for drug-seeking behaviours and criminal activities to fund drug dependence.