P.A.H. 7 (REVISED)
4000091
FONE MINE HONG KONG LOVERNMENT INFORMATION
DAILY
INFORMATION
SERVICES BULLETIN
Monday, August 21, 1972
METHADONE MAINTENANCE SCHEMES BEGIN IN NOVEMBER
The Medical and Health Department will begin a methadone maintenance
trial scheme in November this year designed to treat a number of addicts
on Hong Kong Island by blocking their craving for heroin, morphine, or opium
For addicts in Kowloon and the New Territories, another pilot
scheme will apply
Aid Society.
―
to be carried out by the Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners
Basically, the schemes seek to substitute one drug for another,
but methadone, a synthetic drug, has the advantage of giving the addict
the opportunity to return to a responsible life.
The methadone maintenance form of treatment has been developed
extensively in the United States since the middle of the 1960s, and similar
schemes are being conducted in Canada, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.
Methadone is itself an addictive drug, but there is substantial
evidence to show that the substitution of methadone for heroin, or morphine,
allows the addict to carry on with his normal occupations in circumstances
that do not cause family disturbances or disrupt regular routines.
Methadone has shown itself to be especially beneficial when administered,
under proper controls, to hardcore addicts.
The Medical