Theodore Dalrymple

About the author: Theodore Dalrymple is a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph, a newspaper serving the United Kingdom.

Methadone—an opiate like heroin—is frequently prescribed to heroin addicts to help them withdraw from the illegal drug. Methadone treatment provides a way for addicts to slowly withdraw from heroin use by substituting methadone—which has fewer serious side effects—for heroin. The treatment also helps prevent the use of dirty needles which are used to shoot heroin and can lead to the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS. In addition, because it is free, Methadone reduces the motives for committing crime to fuel heroin habits. Although some addicts do recover by using methadone as prescribed, many others take the free methadone from the clinics and sell it...