WELLNESS STARTS WITH AWARENESS - CD8 T cells - The Body

Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration—and is doubling in size
with a program for active drug users
and people in recovery.]
SM: Exactly. You walk into the waiting
room and there’ll be chicken bones and
used Pampers in the corner. And there’s
a man with a gun standing there. And in
the background, through a partition wall,
you can hear counselors yelling at their
patients. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU
WANT MORE METHADONE? YOU’RE
USING! YOU QUIT USING, THEN YOU
COME ASK FOR MORE METHADONE.”
It’s still the number one reason why people
are discharged from methadone clinics,
that they’re still using heroin.
EV: I remember this one story on the
listserv. It stays with me forever.
This woman ran into an alcoholic
friend from the old days, outside her
methadone clinic. He asked her for a
couple of bucks and she gave it to him.
They were across the street from the
clinic talking and he spat out, “Look
at those junkies.”
She was making a good life, was able
to hold a job, was able to give him a
couple of dollars, and treat him with
some respect.
SM: People talk about heroin addicts
being unmotivated. Heroin addicts are
willing to put up with the most unbelievable
abuse in order to get treatment. They
are desp erate for treatment. Why else
would anyone put up with those kind of
restrictions? And the kind of shaming …
disrespectful … abusive treatment that
they get from their counselors.
EV: And the treatment they get from
others on the street.
SM: From everyone. Their families.
“When are you gonna get off that stuff!”
The DCFS [Department of Children and
Family Services] will say, “If you don’t get
off the methadone, I’m gonna take your
kids.”
PA • September / October 2008 • tpan.com • positivelyaware.com
Positively Aware
EV: Really?
SM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s still happening.
DCFS is taking kids because
women are still on methadone.
EV: Anything else to say to people
on methadone about wellness or to
anyone else?
SM: Well, we can say some things about
wellness and methadone. Number one,
if you’re still using heroin—or craving
heroin—it’s not because you’re a hopeless
junkie. It’s not because you’re a scumbag
who doesn’t want treatment. It’s because
the dose is not yet adequate. If you were
starving and I gave you a piece of bread,
and you were still hungry, that wouldn’t
mean that food doesn’t work for hunger. It
would mean that I didn’t give you enough
food. So that’s the number one thing. You
should get the dose of methadone that
your body needs. Listen to your body and
ask for it. As for side effects of methadone,
those can be managed. But see, I could say
this shit to people and it doesn’t matter.
They can’t get it. So no, I can’t tell them
about wellness and methadone.
EV: What’s it going to take?
SM: I don’t know what it’s going to
take. What it took for HIV was prominent
people doing advocacy. Princess Diana.
Prominent people coming out. Magic
Johnson. What do we have for heroin addicts?
We have Rush Limbaugh.
EV: Is there still a list around that we
can refer people to in the article?
SM: Yes, NAMA, National Association
of Methadone Advocates. (Visit www.
methadone.org; also, www.methadonesupport.org
lists drug interactions and
support groups. Addiction Treatment
Forum is a great newsletter—visit www.
ATForum.com.)
if you’re still using heroin—or
craving heroin—it’s not because
you’re a hopeless junkie.
EV: It’s some kind of starting ground
for self-help, to find someone who
knows what they’re going through.
It’s helpful. It’s our model.
SM: Absolutely.
I have no idea what you’re going to find
to write about.
EV: I’m just going to use it from start
to finish. Because a lot of people
don’t understand it, don’t want
to understand it. Don’t have any
compassion.
SM: Don’t … want … to … understand
… it. We’ve had all this information
about heroin addiction for 40 years. But
our beliefs about addiction—our beliefs
about HIV, are based in moral attitudes.
My sister believes in Creationism. We can
go down to the Field Museum and look at
dinosaur bones and it doesn’t change her
opinion, because her beliefs are based on
religion, not on science. e
Editor’s note: View the entire interview
at www.positivelyaware.com.
Special thanks to Kay Lee for insp iring
this article.—EV
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