NIH RECOMMENDATION -WHAT'S BEEN DONE?

In 1998 an NIH Consensus Development Panel published a report entitled "Effective Medical Treatment of Opiate Addiction" (JAMA 1998; 280(22): 1936-1943). The key conclusion: "All persons dependent on opiates should have access to methadone hydrochloride maintenance therapy under legal supervision, and the US Office of National Drug Control Policy and the US Department of Justice should take the necessary steps to implement this recommendation." If any government official has done anything to suggest acceptance of this Consensus Panel conclusion, it does not seem reflected in any press statements, published articles, news reports, etc. Meanwhile, the EMCDDA 2005 annual report stated that the number of individuals receiving methadone and buprenorphine treatment in the European Community increased seven-fold in the past ten years. It does not appear unreasonable or overly harsh to suggest that US Federal officials have been and continue to be irresponsible in carrying out the mission that they are paid to pursue. One can only guess at the number of Americans whose li=ves have been destroyed - and lost - as a result.