Methadone Maintenance: Opportunity for New Policies for the Addicted Serviceman.
Abstract
Drug abuse and addiction have assumed the proportions of a national plague, with heroin addiction occupying the center of concern. The military services have been affected by the turmoil produced. A review of methadone maintenance as a medical treatment for opiate addiction leads to the judgment that it is inappropriate for application within the military as a treatment for retention of addicted personnel. As part of a national movement toward humanization of policies and procedures for handling the addict, the experience with methadone maintenance suggests a less punitive approach would be beneficial to both individual and society. Acceptance of responsibility for the welfare of the citizen soldier would seem unquestionably to include not only pathways to rehabilitation, but preventive guidance before entering upon service in areas of endemic drug abuse and addiction. (Modified author abstract)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 1971
- Accession Number
- AD0765639
Entities
People
- Marvin E. Perkins
Organizations
- United States Army War College