Methadone Maintenance Treatment in an Irish Context

Dr. Eamon Keenan The previous speaker has given a reasoned a balanced argument in favour of the use of methadone as an effective intervention in the treatment of opiate dependence syndrome. One interesting point to emerge and one that highlights the emotive nature of methadone treatment, is his justification of methadone maintenance on utilitarian moral grounds. That a medicinal product, with proven scientific merit, should require justification on such grounds goes some way towards explaining the controversy surrounding methadone. Today rather than justify my use of methadone maintenance as a treatment intervention, I will simply talk about its use in the Irish context.