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Methadone Clinics

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Methadone Clinics and Needle Exchange Programs: Critical Thinking There are many people in the world today that are drug addicts and cannot quit by themselves which is where the methadone clinics come into the picture. Methadone reduces the withdrawal symptoms therefore making it easier to quit drugs. Even though methadone is supposedly proven to be safe, it seems to have biases and stigmas associated with it because it is an opioid medication and many people can become addicted to it as well as have serious side effects. For individuals who aren 't willing to quit using drugs, they offer needle exchange programs that reduce the risks of infections and diseases. Needle exchange programs are important in a society like today because a…show more content…
On the other hand, it has benefits because sometimes people accidently become addicted to prescribed medications and can’t quit. The methadone clinics are great for that aspect. The other benefits are reducing costs of health care needed due to the reduction of blood borne diseases by using needle exchange programs. Overall, there are numerous benefits from these programs and I believe I would advocate for more of these programs and clinics established because individuals who are struggling with drug addictions are still people and need health care attention as well. Most of the time, the staff at the clinics are probably the only health care professionals they come into contact with. “Medically supervised injection sites have health professionals on site to prevent harmful consequences such as overdose, and provide users with information about health, treatment, and rehabilitation programs” (Stamler & Yiu, 2012, p. 441). I think these programs are a good way for drug users to seek information about health promotion and health problems associated with drug addictions. In conclusion, methadone clinics and needle exchange programs have many stigmas linked to them due to the biases that have been associated with these programs in the past. The programs are trying to create ways to encourage more drug users to use the programs available especially the needle exchange program for those who inject
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