Methadone can help
I believe Ms. Mullin should do a reality check on methadone and methadone clinics. Her diatribe really didn’t have a single fully factual statement.
For one, methadone clinics are either private like the Jefferson Methadone Clinic (www.jefferson.edu) or the Girard Medical Center (www.nphs.com) or state run in some places.
Methadone treatment in Philly is privately-administered, so your “the city is selling a drug” is nonsense. Usually it’s a nonprofit. In the case of NET, or NorthEast Treatment Centers, it’s an operation of quite a large size that receives injections of funding from state and federal and local programs. It is not the city funding these places beyond what anti-drug programs that we have, such as The Office of Addiction Services (OAS), formerly known as the Coordinating Office for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs (CODAAP). The mayor and city are not firing teachers, police and firemen to fund the programs.
There is no free high with methadone or rather, not the same one you get from street drugs. It is used to treat other opioid addictions because of its long-lasting effect — a person should only need to take a dose every 15 to 20 hours rather than for example, smoke/inject/sniff a point of heroin as often as possible. Methadone is more stable. You do not get a rush from it. That is why it’s used.
However, if you have no tolerance and you took 10 to 30mg of methadone, you may certainly get high, probably vomit and feel most of the effects that people do after taking these drugs. That is obviously not the case with addicts. There will be no “rush,” and the full effects peak at around 3.5 hours after oral ingestion. Unlike other synthetic opioid like oxycodone or hydrocodone, methadone doesn’t give that energetic feeling that the other opioid compounds sometimes produce.
Maybe you prefer there were no clinics so these people can just stay on the drugs and do most anything to get that next fix; one of the things that makes certain parts of our city such great places to live in. Personally, I can do without the crime caused by addiction. Any way we can cut it down is a good thing. That, and a civilized society, doesn’t leave its own to die in the streets if it can do something about it.
Hezakiah Levinson
Rhawnhurst
Response to Brown case
Mr. Iaconelli is right on about supporting our police. That being said, let’s discuss the Michael Brown case.
The reports indicate Mr. Brown had no weapon but simply refused to get out of the center of the street. Surely this is not a case worthy of being shot dead.
What was going on in officer Wilson’s mind is purely speculative at best. Did he fear for his life? Not likely, but certainly possible. Nonetheless, this shooting appears to be unjustified. The alleged robbery Mr. Iaconelli mentions was unknown to the officer at the time so is totally irrelevant to the case at hand. As far as officers being photographed, videotaped or under constant scrutiny by the public, I say so what? Properly trained officers should be able to deal with any of this, if they aren’t behaving poorly, they have nothing to fear. I should think they would welcome this scrutiny in order to prove they do behave properly.
In conclusion, Mr. Iaconelli, I hope that all officers in America will not be protesting the treatment of officer Wilson but rather the mistreatment of Mr. Brown.
Joe Orenstein
Bustleton
Thanks for NE Celebration
The Take Back Your Neighborhood civic group thanks all our sponsors, vendors, entertainers, resource groups, donors, and volunteers for making our annual Northeast Celebration at Max Myers Rec Center the best one ever.
Most of all, we thank our neighbors — all 1,000 of you — for coming out to enjoy a day of fun, food, music, crafts, and games.
We hope to see you all next year, and throughout the year at our monthly meetings. Let’s keep building our community.
Paul Kaplan
Take Back Your Neighborhood
