The UK’s Controversial Heroin Treatment Program

The British are trying a radical new treatment for heroin addiction: giving them heroin – on the government’s dime.

Brentwood, TN 11/06/2009 10:12 PM GMT (TransWorldNews)

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We’ve all heard of giving addicts methadone to curb the cravings and help them get off drugs for good, but the British government is taking it a step further. In the UK, they’re treating heroin addicts by giving them heroin on the government’s dime.

Why would the British government spend $22,000 per patient annually to provide addicts with a highly addictive drug? According to a newly released British study, daily heroin injections given to hard-to-treat addicts as part of a comprehensive program succeeded in treating those addicts and reducing crime.

That’s right! Providing heroin to addicts as part of a treatment program cuts down on heroin use and the crime that can accompany a desperate drug addiction. The study went on to say that the use of street heroin was down 75 percent and crime related to obtaining the drug dropped two-thirds.

Whether or not getting heroin off the streets in this controversial way will have a long-term positive effects remains to be seen, but many who are currently in the program hope to see it continue.

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