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There are many requirements today on people in Methadone treatment. When You have come to the point that You are considering Methadone treatment You are probably so shattered and tired and see Methadone treatment as the only way to stay alive. In Sweden, once You are in a Methadone treatment program no mistakes on Your part are accepted. Our moral are put to the test, it has to be higher than for other groups in the society.

People who are drug addicted are one of the most negligently practiced groups in our society and they continue to get negligently practiced even in the medical care. If You don´t succed in Your struggle to get well, Your treatment will be suspended ! Furthermore; You loose Your right to other substitution medication (for instance Buprenorphine). This leads to an even deeper misery, more isolation and life becomes worse than it was before you entered Methadone treatment.

Those fortunate enough to survive this and who have the strength to recover are often afraid to apply again, the fear of not getting well and of loosing the Methadone a second or a third time is frightening.
How is this “treatment” really carried out ?
One of The Swedish User´s Union´s, Svenska Brukarföreningens SBF most important missions is to clarify and make visible the degenerated conditions in the Methadone program of Stockholm which is financed by the county council.
An incongruity that most of the doctors, politician and officials within the National Board of Health are not aware of. They all say: -This is not the picture the command chief and his section chief give us. Why we experience a different reality in the Methadone maintenance program to that of the activity management is due to the structure of the program. If an activity is closed and there is a lack of control and transparency, as it is now, the management can easily create their own truth. If similar circumstances had existed in any other sector of the healthcare these problems would have been dealt with long ago.
A doctor would not withdraw the Insulin from a diabetic patient because he/she had been eaten candy. If a diabetic patient would sell his/her syringes he/she would not be disposed of the insulin.

In SBF, all users in Sweden now finally have an Advocate and we can make our voices heard. To be able to work for changes in the Methadone program, we need information from those of You who have been mistreated during your time in the program. It is only we who have had and who lives with this medicine who can tell how it really is.
Today we have established contact with politician and officials within the National Swedish Board of Health and Welfare and within the Swedish County Council. They are very interested in case studies to be able to get an opinion on our views and experiences of the Methadone programs. They lack this knowledge since the information they get is coming only from one side. We have now started our work by spreading the information about these problems that causes so many of us unnecessary suffering. The more we can prove how degenerated the Methadone programs are in our country, the more we can influence the people who make the decisions, to make these in a good direction. Until then an obvious change is not possible.
Don’t forget that our work is a long-range one.

FRIENDSHIP & SOLIDARITY
SBF Svenska Brukarföreningen, The Swedish Users Union

Berne Stålenkrantz (President)
Allan Johansson(Secretary)