New Opioid Rehab Center in Georgia Faces Backlash From Methadone Opposers
A new opioid rehab center in Georgia is facing backlash from residents who feel that the clinic will have a negative impact on their community. The clinic, which is in Ringgold, will treat those who suffer from opioid addiction using methadone, a synthetic prescription opioid that keeps addicts stable as they withdraw from heroin and other opioids. Local supporters and opposers crowded city hall at a recent city council meeting to share their views on methadone treatment, and on the opening of the clinic.
If you or someone you care about is addicted to heroin or opioid medications, get help now before the addiction becomes worse. Call our confidential helpline at 888-414-2380 to learn more about your options for rehab centers in Georgia that can help you overcome addiction.
Ringgold’s New Methadone Clinic
The new clinic provides methadone, a controversial opioid addiction medication.
The city’s new methadone clinic is located on Highway 41 in Ringgold a few blocks from the city’s main stretch of businesses. City council members say that the opening of the clinic is not up to Ringgold, but to the Georgia Department of Community Health. The business is waiting to receive its tax license before opening its doors to the public.
Opposers of the methadone clinic are saying clinics such as these are only providing addicts with more drugs to fuel their addictions, and that doctors must stop overprescribing opioids as part of the solution. Supporters are saying scientific evidence proves that opioid addicts fare best when using methadone to recover from addiction, and that abstinence fails to fully address opioid addiction.
An owner of a methadone clinic in Chatsworth says these rehab centers also offer counseling to help patients learn how to overcome addiction, avoid relapses, and stay sober. Yet, Ringgold residents remain concerned about the methadone clinic endangering public safety.
Benefits of Methadone Clinics for Opioid Addiction
Drug rehab centers have been using methadone to treat opioid addiction for over 30 years. Methadone reduces cravings and opioid withdrawal symptoms, and helps addicts stay stable as heroin and other opioids leave their bodies. Throughout treatment, doctors safely and gradually reduce patients’ methadone doses until they’re no longer taking opioids of any kind.
Methadone clinics provide patients with methadone doses every 24 hours, which is the amount of time each dose generally lasts. This prevents recovering addicts from overlapping doses, or taking more than the recommended dose, which increases the risk for overdose, coma, and death. Patients are required to visit methadone clinics at the same time every day for the best outcome, and to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
In addition to simply offering methadone treatment for opioid addiction, methadone clinics allow recovering addicts to network with another, and offer group counseling sessions that help prevent relapses. Methadone clinics can offer Georgia and the U.S. a way to combat the nation’s opioid epidemic, and can help improve lives and communities across the country.
If you’re facing a problem with heroin or fentanyl addiction and need help, call our confidential helpline at 888-414-2380 to discuss your rehab options. We’ll help you find an opioid rehab center in Georgia that specializes in treating your addiction so you can become happier, healthier, and drug-free.
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