Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Heroin Death and Controversial Methadone Treatment Clinics

/by

The tragic death of Philip Seymour Hoffman this past Saturday has renewed once again the public’s focus on the growing problem of heroin addiction in this country. The NY Times published an article on the subject today on the deadly drug’s affordability and availability across the country. The Times article even noted the Vermont governor’s state of the state address recently during which he referred to the problem as a “full-blown heroin crisis”. Because heroin is cheap and not confined to large urban areas, heroin addicition has become a growing problem in rural states like Vermont and New Hampshire. Subsequently, for-profit methadone clinics have been opening around the country touting themselves as safe, efficient methods of treating the growing epidemic of heroin addiction. However, as we’ve filed methadone lawsuits in New Hampshire, we’ve found that methadone treatment is far from the safe and efficient treatment option for heroin addicts. Those who seek treatment in methadone clinics must be monitored in terms of what other drugs they are taking. Counseling is also an integral part of methadone treatment. Because there are often multiple psychological, pharmacological, and physical issues involved in the treatment of heroin addicts, safe treatment must consider and account for all of these factors.

Holly Haines
Latest posts by Holly Haines (see all)