[You said}
?Heroin maintenance can work as well because often the reason that heroin users face "negative consequences" is because the drug is impure and illegal?
--No, mainly it?s because they get very, very sick within 24 hrs of not getting it again.
[You said]
?and people with a legal supply can live functionally and healthily once they have a safe and regular supply. Those taking regular, stable doses of opiates no longer get high-- you couldn't tell them from others in terms of cognitive, emotional or physical functioning. Hence, perhaps, Rush Limbaugh not nodding on air.?
-- That?s total bullshit. Methadone makes you nod like hell for hours, and gets you high as hell in the process. You?re obviously giving some text definition, and not speaking from experience. Being on methadone is a dependence. Dependence and addiction are pretty much the same thing. Heroin may be illegal, but alcohol sure isn't. Doesn?t mean dependence on it is okay, but it?s more acceptable. Methadone junkies are just taking the easy way out, avoiding having to actually kick. It?s a weakness, it?s an impairment, it?s an addiction.