Illegal Street Sales of Take-Home Doses of Methadone on the Rise
Illegal street sales of take-home doses of liquid
methadone, prescribed to treat opioid addiction, are on the rise,
according to law enforcement officials in Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia
and West Virginia.
The diverted methadone has been tracked to clinics operated by CRC
Health Corp., the article notes. CRC, owned by Bain Capital Partners, is
the largest U.S. provider of methadone treatment, according to
Bloomberg. Last year it operated 57 clinics in 15 states, Bloomberg reports.
Former employees say the company’s clinics are chronically
understaffed, which makes it easier for take-home methadone to be
abused. Former counselors say their heavy workload did not allow them to
adequately counsel patients.
The clinics provide take-home packages, some with just one dose, and
others containing as many as 30 doses. Police and prosecutors say in the
small towns where the company has clinics, methadone has surfaced in
criminal cases.
CRC Chief Executive Officer R. Andrew Eckert said take-home dosing
can help keep patients on methadone, and off illegal drugs, by not
making them come to the clinic every day for treatment. “Our mission is
to help these individuals, but sadly, we cannot report 100 percent
success,” he said. “No treatment provider can.”
Philip Herschman, Chief Clinical Officer of CRC, told Bloomberg the
company follows specific and rigid state and federal rules when it
decides which patients may obtain take-home doses. The company conducts
spot-checks, in which it calls back patients to clinics, to account for
their take-home bottles, he said. If a patient tests positive for any
illicit substances, take-home doses are suspended immediately, he added.
State regulatory records show this is not always true. The records
also indicate CRC’s clinics have not met staffing standards on more than
50 occasions.
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