In control?: Ukrainian opiate substitution treatment patients strive for a voice in their treatment.

This article explores the burgeoning advocacy movement for methadone and buprenorphine treatment by patients, parents, and doctors in Ukraine, and their efforts to remake a system that infantilizes and controls patients into one where patients have a voice in their treatment. Through a review of gray literature and in-depth interviews with 28 patient-advocates and doctors in five Ukrainian cities between October 2009 and July 2010, this piece chronicles the emergence of opiate substitution treatment in Ukraine, describes successes toward patient-friendly treatment, and explores the institutionalized barriers that have pushed the patients to become advocates for their own treatment.