Staff Attitudes and Conflict Regarding the Use of Methadone in the Treatment of Heroin Addiction
BARRY S. BROWN PH.D.1,
DONALD R. JANSEN M.A.2, , and
URBANE F. BASS III 2
1 Chief, Bureau of Research and Development, Narcotics Treatment Administration, District of Columbia Department of Human Resources, 613 G St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001
2 Research Associate, Bureau of Research and Development, Narcotics Treatment Administration, District of Columbia Department of Human Resources, 613 G St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001
Realizing that attitudes toward drug use held by staff members of methadone maintenance clinics have a strong influence on the treatment given, the authors sampled the opinions of ex-addict counselors maintained with methadone, ex-addict counselors who were abstinent, nonaddict counselors, and administrative and supervisory staff. The staff uniformly viewed methadone maintenance as preferable to the use of heroin but as significantly less desirable than the person's functioning without drugs. The implications of these attitudes for treatment are discussed.
