Guangzhou government has been promoting methadone replacement
therapy among drug addicts in a bid to curb narcotics use.
Three methadone clinics were opened in this southern city last
September. Since then, 286 people signed up to receive the therapy,
though 20 of them eventually quit the program.
Methadone, a synthetic narcotic, is accepted as a tool to help
reduce addicts' craving for drugs. It also deters them from using
hypodermic needles that can spread HIV/AIDS and other
blood-transmitted diseases.
Moreover, those who take methadone are able to work and live a
relatively normal life instead of having to deal with the physical
deterioration associated with heroin addiction.
"The three clinics are located in three different districts, and
we intend to set up more," Chang Haixiang, director of Guangzhou's
anti-drugs bureau, said.
"We hope each of Guangzhou's 10 districts will have at least one
clinic."
However, the program is still awaiting central government
approval, so no timeframe is in place, Chang said.
At a clinic, a cup of methadone drink costs 10 yuan (US$1.30),
while an addict has to pay about 150 yuan a day to maintain a
heroin habit.
"The therapy will ease the financial burden and help reduce
crime caused by drug addicts," Chang said.
However, methadone is only a substitute for drugs, rather than a
cure for addiction. Addicts, especially those who have tried and
failed several times to quit taking drugs, must take methadone once
a day over a long period of time, Chang said.
He said it would be better for people who had just started
taking drugs to get help quitting them altogether, rather than just
replacing them with methadone.
There are eight compulsory drug rehabilitation centers in
Guangzhou. They house about 1,100 drug addicts. In total, about
10,000 addicts receive treatment at the centers each year.
Guangzhou is the first city in the country to cover the living
expenses of addicts who are receiving compulsory drug treatment,
Zhu Min, the director of the Guangzhou public security bureau's
drug rehabilitation center, said.
Six months of treatment cost about 3,550 yuan. Most people
receive between three and six months of treatment.
Guangzhou has about 20,000 registered drug addicts. However, the
real number is much higher, according to the drug-fighting
bureau.
(China Daily June 29, 2007)