The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is considering making methadone treatment compulsory for heroin addicts to thelp them kick the habit.
Methadone is designed to treat narcotic withdrawal, reducing dependence on drugs such as heroin. When administered by trained physicians, it also lowers the risk of contracting diseases through injections.
Chronic heroin addicts may need to use methadone for much of their lives to deal with their addiction.
"Because the experimental methadone program in Tainan and other places is doing well, the ministry is considering promoting a law requiring heroin users to take the methadone program," MOJ Chief Councilor Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) told the Taipei Times.
In a first for the nation, the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office last November launched an experimental methadone program to help heroin users kick the habit.
It worked with the Department of Health (DOH) to promote the "methadone substitution program."
Under the program, heroin addicts who turn themselves in are granted deferred prosecution and can begin a one-year methadone treatment immediately.
Once started, the treatment is compulsory.
Heroin users are obliged to contribute NT$50,000 (US$1,500) to a special fund to help finance the cost of treatment.
After one year, they can decide whether they want to continue a lifetime methadone program at their own expense.
The Tainan District Prosecutors' Office said that methadone is taken once a day and costs about NT$70, which is low compared with supporting a heroin habit that can run up to NT$10,000 a day.
Moreover, methadone's cost could drop to a low NT$20 once Taiwan starts producing the drug.
The methadone treatment program requires addicts to visit a designated hospital or police station to receive their daily dose, the office said.
Chen said that the recidivism for using heroin was more than 90 percent, but the methadone substitution program had been found to be effective internationally.
While the MOJ is still looking for supporting international reports on the methadone program, the DOH supports the program and believes it works, he said.
Under the current law, those arrested for using "first-class" drugs such as heroin and cocaine, or "second-class" drugs such as amphetamines and marijuana, must undergo narcotic treatment at drug abstention and treatment centers for a maximum of one month. Those who are seriously addicted and fail an exam after the one-month treatment must undergo a second treatment, lasting up to a maximum of one year.
The law stipulates that those who've received narcotic treatments one or two times and are arrested again for drug use will be charged under criminal law.
Chen said the ministry has voiced concerns that methadone might be stolen from hospitals easily if not controlled properly and that the budget needed to support a large number of addicts on the program could be big.
Aside from Tainan, the experimental methadone program has been adopted by other district prosecutors' offices in Pingtung, Yunlin, Miaoli and Taoyuan, he said, adding that the Shilin office is about to do the same.
"The effect of methadone can last 24 to 36 hours, allowing heroin addicts to take it once a day and work like normal people," said Tsai Ching-hsiang (
Shilin Prosecutor Lin Zai-pei (林在培), a senior prosecutor focusing on drug crimes, said he and a number of other prosecutors were drafting a methadone bill, which might be completed ahead of the ministry's proposed law.
"We will lobby legislators to support such a bill when the draft is completed," he said.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS