Methadone is the gold standard for treating opioid addiction. It is a life-saving medication. But the current, outdated system for obtaining it–the methadone clinic system– is punitive, unjust, and humiliating. In the midst of an ongoing opioid overdose crisis, it’s easier to get fentanyl on the street than it is to get methadone from a clinic. This live panel of experts will unpack the carceral and racist history of methadone. Panelists will discuss how siloed clinics are a creation of the War on Drugs, expose the role of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the culture of cruelty, and explain how methadone is harm reduction but the system that controls access to it is harm production. To free people who take methadone, the clinic system has to be abolished and care for opioid addiction integrated into the healthcare system.
Join Helen Redmond, Samuel Kelton Roberts, Betty Kolod and Jerry Otero to discuss the past, present, and future of methadone.
