NCJ Number
171809
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 26 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1996) Pages: 923-942
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Qualitative data from 27 women in the San Francisco Bay area of California who had lost their subsidized slots in a methadone maintenance treatment program were analyzed to determine the impact of defunding on the women and their families.
Abstract
The budget cuts and loss of publicly funded treatment slots made the women leave the program or begin paying for a private slot. The research focused on the women's experiences on methadone maintenance prior to defunding and the payment strategies that women used in response to premature methadone detoxification. The analysis also examined the financial and emotional consequences of those payment strategies on the women and their families and the risks the women faced in returning to heroin use and illicit activities after being defunded. The participants attested to the efficacy of methadone maintenance in creating a stable setting in which their illicit drug use was eliminated or controlled. They were able to reduce their participation in illegal activities and pursue further employment and educational goals. After defunding, women used a variety of strategies, including family borrowing, welfare funds, and illicit activities to remain on private methadone maintenance. The result of these payment strategies was often a premature detoxification from methadone maintenance due to unpaid clinic bills. Many women returned to heroin use to alleviate withdrawal symptoms from methadone detoxification; the return was accompanied by increased illicit activities. Defunded women also reported severe emotional and financial destabilization as a result of lost access to subsidized methadone maintenance treatment. Table and 47 references (Author abstract modified)