Arrangements Made For Methadone-Dependent Residents During Papal Visit
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Pope's visit is affecting people in a lot of different ways. Methadone-dependent Philadelphians were worried it might prevent them from getting their medication. The city planning for the visit included alternate arrangements for the methadone clinics that are closed.
Director of the city's Addiction Services, Roland Lamb, says three Methadone-Assisted Treatment Facilities, serving 750 people, will be closed during the Papal Visit.
"We've had snowstorms, we've had septa strikes but never anything like this. When you consider the travel restrictions connected to this, this represents a very different kind of disaster in some ways," explained Lamb.
He says the city worked with providers and state and federal officials, since methadone is the most highly-regulated medical intervention, and was able to arrange for patients to be treated at another facility, or to get three days worth of take-home doses.
"Methadone is a life-saving medication and we are responsible for making sure people can get medicated," Lamb said.
Methadone is used to fight heroin addiction and treat chronic pain.