Are Methadone Clinics Really “Evolving” Toward Harm Reduction?

Are Methadone Clinics Really “Evolving” Toward Harm Reduction?

“The Evolving Field of Opioid Treatment” was the theme of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) conference, held in Philadelphia in October. But the field has been stuck in a dusty old time capsule since the creation of methadone clinics under the Nixon administration. How credible were the conference’s promises of evolution toward harm reduction? And what’s behind the change of tone? Lest we forget, a global pa…