The 14th Street Clinic & Medical Group, Inc.
1124 International Boulevard (E. 14th Street)
Oakland, California 94606
(510) 533-0800 / 533-0300 Fax

September 26, 2005

Dear Clients,

As many of you already know, HBO is planning to air “Methadonia,” a documentary on methadone on October 6. As you might suspect from the promotions, this may be a very negative show. Although some think it focuses on the destructiveness of addiction, others think it includes the worst type of client representation, plus misinformation about a variety of things. We know that a number of you are upset, and concerned about how your family, friends and employers will react. We wanted to let you know about the activities underway to counteract the viewpoint of the film director, Michel Negroponte.

Treatment providers have a national association, the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD, www.aatod.org), headed by an excellent leader, Mark Parrino. He is building a multilevel response, including federal agencies, providers, and patient advocacy groups.

The research community recently celebrated the 40 year anniversary of methadone treatment, reviewing findings that showed that methadone has a major impact in reducing illicit drug use and drug associated crime, and improving physical and mental health, employment, and family functioning. These findings are so consistent that methadone is considered “the gold standard” for treating heroin (and other opioid) addiction.

Because the research evidence is so strong, federal agencies have always been willing to help counteract negative publicity, such as the HBO film. Mr. Parrino has met with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to build a strategy to address reactions to this film. AATOD will be coordinating the response from treatment programs. We will keep you informed of developments.

Meanwhile, you may want to team up with the patient advocacy groups. The National Alliance of Methadone Advocates (NAMA) is working on their response, and there are chapters in California. You can learn about them at www.methadone.org or by contacting them by e-mail: nama.president@verizon.net. You can also call (212) 595-NAMA, but they may be overwhelmed by phone calls at this time and need to focus on their strategy. One good thing that could come out of this is the strengthening of the advocacy groups.

One obstacle in all this is the stigma that discourages those of you who are doing well from making it public that you are on methadone. We are discussing the option of a film that shows some of the many clients on methadone who are living responsible lives. If you are willing to consider this, please let us know. It would also be good to have a list of clients who are willing to be interviewed by the media.

Stay tuned.

Best wishes,

Joan Zweben, Ph.D.

Executive Director