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| President Obama, image courtesy huffington post |
President and NY Governor Cuomo
address "Medication Assisted Treatment"
deficiencies for Heroin abuse
I represent people from all walks of life facing all different sorts of legal problems. Some of my clients are dealing with addiction--whether it be an alcohol dependency or drug abuse. In either case, addiction is a disease that must be treated. Over the past several decades, global opinions have changed in the USA and worldwide about the best way to treat people suffering from addiction.
The problem change is that it is SLOW. Especially bureaucratic change. In the criminal court system in New York (and I imagine nationally), Judges, Probation Officers, Prosecutors, and even some defense counsel follow a particular paradigm when dealing with criminal defendants who are deemed to be addicts. There are programs and protocols that are followed in almost every case.
Unfortunately, some of those protocols have proven to be unsuccessful. Yet the system still adheres to them without pause or adaptation.
President Obama and Governor Cuomo are trying to change a significant piece of the system with their new initiatives.
Two days ago, President Obama announced that he was rolling out a new federal program to reward states (and state agencies) with federal dollars that complied with significant changes to the way they treat HEROIN abuse (opioid addiction).
The program seeks to change the current mindset that "ABSTINENCE IS THE BEST MEDICINE" for heroin and other opioid addiction. Up to now, most Judges and other people who deal with criminal defendants dealing with addiction believed that "going cold turkey" was the only way to deal with this kind of addiction.
Science and medical research prove otherwise. The powerful effects HEROIN has on a user's system cannot be simply fought with "mind over matter." The chemical dependency on the drug makes a user compelled to seek it out for their body and mind to even begin to feel like it is functioning normally --or to feel some kind of momentary peace from the powerful grip of needing another hit.
These articles go on to say that MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT can yield better results with Heroin addicts because the medication helps to slowly wean the chemical dependency from the user over a period of time --to allow their body to adjust to the sudden lack of the drug.
Drugs like Suboxone and Methadone have been used for years to fight Heroin addiction, but the problem is that they are difficult to obtain and there are not enough qualified physicians to prescribe them to the people that need them most.
Obama's new initiative is designed to increase the number of physicians and availability of these drugs for people who need them. In my opinion (as a lawyer who represents people stuck in the horrifying grip of drug addiction), this is a good first step to alter the status quo because the current treatment methods do not work with any sustained level of success. There must be a better way --so I endorse any proposed change to improve things for drug addicts and their families.
IN ADDITION to Federal changes, NY Governor Cuomo instituted a new change to the Criminal Court system that PROHIBITS Judges from changing drug treatment protocols without medical consent.
This was a common sense change. Judges are NOT doctors. It made absolutely no sense that somebody without medical or addiction training could make a decision that would effectively take somebody out of treatment. Too much power for a medically ignorant court system.
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I have seen first-hand the debilitating effects Opioid abuse can have on the user and the people that love them. Heroin is a horrible drug and it is currently the most prevalent and CHEAP drug on the streets. People suffering from the grip of Heroin addiction need help and I'm glad that the powers that be are at least trying to do something new to address the growing problem in the USA (and in New York).
By Attorney Mike Cyr
P: 607-229-5184
E: mike.ithacadwi@gmail.com
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