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Botulism from contaminated black tar heroin. Botulism toxin
causes paralysis, and the patient may stop breathing.
Premature labor and low birth weight from heroin abuse.
Daily discomfort from withdrawal symptoms. These include
achiness, sweating, diarrhea, nasal congestion, stomach cramps,
nausea, irritability, tremors, etc.
Insomnia from withdrawal symptoms.

Every one of the medical problems on this table except one is
prevented by methadone maintenance treatment. Hepatitis C is the
exception. The reason for this is that most patients already have used
needles at least a few times, and already have hepatitis C by the time
they come in for treatment. Hepatitis C is very contagious, and it
doesn’t take long to be exposed. Methadone maintenance treatment
would prevent hepatitis C in patients who have not yet used needles,
for example young people who ‘snort’ heroin, or smoke it.

Efficacy References

Appel, P. W., H. Joseph, et al. (2001). "Selected in-treatment
outcomes of long-term methadone maintenance treatment patients in
New York State." The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine 68(No. 1): 55-
61.

Ball, J. C. and A. Ross (1991). The Effectiveness of Methadone
Maintenance Treatment. New York, Springer-Verlag.

Gronbladh, L., L. S. Ohlund, et al. (1990). "Mortality in heroin
addiction: impact of methadone treatment." Acta Psychiatr Scand
82(3): 223-7.

Acta Psychiatr Scand, September 1, 1990; 82(3): 223-7.

MEDLINE ABSTRACT

The mortality within a cohort of 115 street heroin addicts was studied for 5-
8 years using the Kaplan-Meier survival estimate technique. This differed
markedly from the relatively low mortality of 166 comparable heroin