For what it's worth..
I totally agree it would save money. I actually think they should just legalize every drug. Most people arent going to start smoking crack or shooting dope just because it is legal. That would be the real way to save money. The amount of money we would save on DEA, local law, unclogging the courts, jails and probation systems would be monumental. Then add to it the amount of money that would be made on taxes would be astronomical. It would free up so much money that rehabbing a person would be easy to pay for. The way it is now most addicts are in and out of jail/psych wards/rehabs/parole/probation their entire life. Then they die. All of that is paid for by our tax dollars. Where I am at it costs over 45,000/yr to house an inmate in county. Over 85% of the inmates are there because of drugs and alcohol. Thats a lot of money. Even a great rehab costs 1000/day. 30 days of treatment is cheaper than one year of jail, and would accomplish so much more. The meth program I was on cost me a dollar/day! Without insurance suboxone cost around $10/pill. No matter which way you look at it, rehabilatating an addict is way cheaper then trying to stop them.
But, maintenance is exactly what the word means. Maintaining an addiction. The person is not being maintained, the addiction is. I was on methadone (100 mg dose) for 2 years one point in my life. Those were two of the most disgusting years of my existence. If you have ever been to a meth clinic than you know the bartering of benzos and 'take homes' is rampid. And most of the people who are actually taking the meth properly are still smoking crack or shooting coke. (and i'm not taking about a few people I know. I have been doing this shit for over 2 decades up and down the east coast mia-nyc. its the same everywhere) Its not like you run into pillars of society at the meth clinic. I have met very few people in my 20+ years of opiate struggles who have successfully used the methadone program as instructed, completed it, tapered off and went on to live normal lives. What is more common is someone gets on meth and around 5 years into the program they decide they can never stop taking it. Then they become what we referred to as lifers. I have met people who have been on meth for 25 years! It would take another 5-10 years to properly taper them and by then they would be 60 or 70.
Suboxone/Bupe/Subutex whatever you wanna take (I actually heard of a dr in jersey who is giving naltrexone shots that can last up to 3 months on one shot - dont know details so dont quote me on that) I believe gives someone more of a fighting shot to become useful members of their family again. Most dr's in my area have no problem handing out monthly scripts for up to 24 mg's of subs a day (which is entirely way too much in my opinion but that doesnt count for shit). This method of dosing actually gives the patient a chance to continue living life and attempting to recover, live a normail life and in doing that they may eventually decide they want to taper (unlike most meth patients who are forced to). But, subs have the same drawback that some people catch themselves falling into and deciding that they dont ever want to stop taking them. Ofcourse there are those who sell them for other drugs, but from my experience it is way less apt to happen with suboxone compared to methadone. I just stopped taking subs after 18 mos or so 3 weeks ago. Been using kratom to compensate on the bad days, but all in all habit is gone, no chip. Nothing.
Nothing like what you are talking about is ever going to happen in this country. The gov't of this country is too fucked up to see anyones side of the story except their own. It doesn't matter how many studies are done in australia or wherever. The best we can hope for is to share information that has worked for ourselves, pass it on to others and hope it helps. Opiate addiction is a bitch. I have been kicking dope since 1995. This isnt the first time I have been off opiates, but I am hoping it is the last.
