Prison a 'society dependent on methadone'

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by Change | 14 Apr 2010

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Too few prisoners receiving methadone in jail are receiving the drug addiction support they need.

Prisoners dependent on methadone are not receiving the drug addiction help they require, it has been warned.

Noreen Oliver, who founded Burton addiction centre in Staffordshire, said that too many inmates are being given the heroin substitute without receiving further drug addiction support, the Times reports.

Ms Oliver believes the culture of beating drug addictions in prisons needs to become more ambitious and warned of a "society dependent on methadone".

"It is state-induced dependency," she told the newspaper. "We are putting them on methadone and parking them."

"It is about getting back into society and taking responsibility for their own lives."

The drug addiction expert went on to explain that many people in prison wanted to overcome their addiction while serving their sentence and that, while methadone is beneficial for some, the medication is too commonly prescribed.

It is often used to help individuals cope with the psychological aspect of an addiction to heroin. Methadone also helps to a person to stabilise their health and lifestyle, and doses are normally gradually reduced until being withdrawn completely.

Burton addiction centre has treated 4,000 people since 1998 and has achieved a 79 per cent success rate.

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