Abstinence: from rhetoric to reality

The National Treatment Agency (NTA) published documents last week relating to their board meeting of the 6th July. Reading the three-page business plan for 2010/11 we discover that time-limiting methadone prescribing could very well become a reality in the next twelve months

theartoflifeitself.com has printed the second page of the business plan in full below, with highlights and annotations of my own to accentuate the contentious content. The language is innocuous, but suggests far-reaching and potentially destructive consequences that represent a huge step backwards into the dark ages of drug treatment. This is a great disservice to the service users and staff who aspire towards providing world class services and completely irreconcilable with a recovery orientated treatment system that acknowledges -fundamentally – diverse needs and diverse outcomes.

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