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What is NAMA

NAMA IS COMMITTED
TO:
Promoting quality
methadone maintenance treatment as the most effective modality for the
treatment of heroin addiction.
 


Working to
dispel the ignorance regarding MMT which plagues both treatment professionals
and the general public.
 


Fighting discrimination
perpetrated against methadone maintenance patients.
 


Struggling to
destigmatize the treatment which has given us back our lives.
 


What is NAMA NOT?


 

    NAMA is not an organization of apologists
    for what passes for methadone maintenance treatment in the United States
    today. Most MMT programs do not even come close to practicing the treatment
    modality created by Drs Dole and Nyswander three decades ago, and even
    the best programs are severely hampered by senseless regulation and by
    the presence of staff oriented towards non-medical modalities. NAMA believes
    that only through education can methadone maintenance treatment fulfill
    its promise and again become the most effective, progressive, and humane
    treatment for heroin and other opioid dependence.

    Telling The Untold Methadone Success Stories

    • This Treatment WorksThere may be no more effective way to contain
      heroin abuse than methadone, a drug that blocks an addict’s craving. Yet
      new efforts to expand use of methadone have inspired new attacks on it,
      attacks that deny common sense.
    • -The New York Times, April 8, 1990

       

    • Consumers Union Report: Licit and Illicit DrugsThe interesting
      thing about methadone treatment is that it permits people to become whatever
      they potentially are. Whereas addicts, under the pressure of drug abuse
      and drug-seeking look very much the same, when they are freed from this
      slavery they d ifferentiate and become part of the spectrum of society.
    • -W.M. Brecher, Consumer Reports, Little, Brown and Company; Boston
      and Toronto, 1972

       

    • Reducing The Risk of AIDS Through Methadone Maintenance Treatment
      …we found that this modality of treatment is markedly more effective
      in reducing intravenous drug use by heroin addicts. Thus, 71 percent of
      an in-treatment sample of 388 patients had stopped IV drug use; most had
      refrained completely from IV drug u se for one year or more.
    • -J.C. Ball, W. Robert Lange, C. Patrick Myers, and Samuel R. Friedman.
      Journal of Health and Social Behavior 29(3); 214-216


    The Misconceptions About Methadone


    Since its beginning over thirty years ago, methadone maintenance has proven
    to be the most effective treatment for heroin addiction, resulting in the
    termination of both heroin use and criminal behavior. In spite of this
    success, methadone maintenance is often disparaged as a “substitute drug”
    by those who ignore the positive benefits it has brought to society. The
    media tends to focus on the negatives of methadone and none of the success
    stories.

    These negative attitudes impair the effectiveness of methadone maintenance
    programs. Patients are mistreated, misinformed and stigmatized. They are
    victims of discrimination in health care, the job market, education, insurance,
    and housing. Even treatm ent professionals feel ashamed to admit they work
    in this field.


    The National Alliance of Methadone Advocates

    At NAMA, we’d like people to focus on the success stories of methadone:
    patients who became successful lawyers or construction workers, patients
    who rebuilt their families and are now productive members of society.

    NAMA is an organization of methadone patients, healthcare professionals,
    friends, and associates working together for greater public understanding
    and acceptance of methadone treatment.

    NAMA’s Goals

    • to eliminate discrimination toward methadone patients
    • to create a more positive image about methadone maintenance treatment
    • to help preserve patients’ dignity and their rights
    • to make treatment available on demand to every person who needs it
    • to empower methadone patients with a strong public voice

    Changing People’s Views With Education and Advocacy

    NAMA will

    • speak publicly about the productive lives led by methadone patients
    • establish contact with elected and appointed officials
    • attend community meetings
    • prepare and distribute educational material
    • participate in media interviews
    • create a unified voice to reach the public on all issues of concern to
      methadone patients

    In addition to fighting the negative image and low self-esteem
    of methadone patients, NAMA provides practical assistance in the everyday
    concerns of patients and treatment professionals:

    • Drug Treatment
    • Some methadone treatment programs have become huge, cumbersome bureaucracies.
      The policies of various agencies often conflict with one another, leaving
      the patient frustrated and discouraged. NAMA helps promote improved program
      services, development of new approaches, and increased patient participation
      in treatment.

       

    • Treatment on Demand
    • Heroin addicts seeking help are daily denied treatment and forced back
      to the streets because of long waiting lists at clinics. NAMA can push
      for immediate expansion of treatment and provide referral assistance to
      those who need help getting into a pro gram.

       

    • Education of Methadone Patients
    • In many programs, the fundamentals of methadone treatment and addiction
      are not even explained to patients. As a result, many believe dangerous
      folklore about methadone such as “it gets in your bones” or “it rots your
      teeth”. NAMA remedies this situati on with workshops, meetings, the media
      and other methods.

       

      Some treatment professionals lack an understanding of the pharmacology
      of addiction and how this relates to rehabilitation. NAMA promotes an improved
      addiction treatment curriculum in institutions of higher learning.

       

    • AIDS
    • At present, there is very little information or assistance provided
      for methadone patients who are HIV+. And very little information on preventative
      healthcare for non-HIV patients. NAMA helps supplement existing AIDS programs.

       

    • Discrimination
    • Discrimination is a major obstacle for anyone who has ever used drugs.
      While some legislation has been enacted which protects former addicts and
      methadone patients, there still remain many areas where methadone patients
      are not protected. NAMA works to inform methadone patients of their rights
      and to provide support to those who have been victims of discrimination.


    National Alliance of Methadone Advocates

    435 Second Avenue

    New York, NY, 10010

    (212) 595-NAMA (6262)

    [email protected]


    Add Your Voice!

    Join NAMA 


    Last Update: January 27, 2000


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