Nyet to Methadone

The next time you feel slighted because your viewpoint about treatment doesn't get a full airing, think about what it must be like to promote promising treatments in some other parts of the world. A compelling article in today's New York Times reports that Russia is nowhere close to introducing methadone treatment for opiate addiction, even though injection drug use accounts for about two of every three new HIV cases in the country. What's more, the article states that "in Russia even talking about [methadone] can provoke legal sanction." Legislative authorities recently launched an inquiry into a research institute director who had helped organize a conference at which methadone was discussed. Russian health officials have said at conferences that they are unconvinced of methadone's effectiveness. But apparently they didn't want to elaborate on that for the Times. The newspaper reported that neither Russia's equivalent of the U.S. Surgeon General nor the country's leading narcotics specialist would agree to be interviewed.