Accompanied by three former heroin addicts, Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) yesterday encouraged drug addicts to participate in the government's methadone program.
“Approximately 12,000 heroin addicts are now taking methadone. We hope to encourage more to do so,” Yeh told a press conference at the DOH.
Yeh said that he had invited the three former addicts — Huang (黃), Hsiao-ju (小如) and Yang (楊) — to share their experiences as many heroin addicts did not believe that methadone works despite the government's efforts at promoting the program.
“This program helps heroin addicts quit drugs and live a normal life. They are like sick people who are taking medicine. I am sick as well. I take medication for high blood pressure every day,” Yeh said.
The three patients were from the DOH's Taoyuan Mental Hospital, where they are participating in the methadone program.
Huang, 42, who has been taking methadone for more than two years, said that he had been on heroin for more than a decade and spent more than NT$1 million on it. After being released from Hsinchu Prison after serving time for drug-related charges in April 2006, a friend suggested he try methadone.
“The best thing about methadone is that you do not feel the pain of quitting heroin. It's just like taking medicine,” Huang said. “You can lead a normal life, have a job and a family.”
Huang said he is now helping out with the family business while looking for a full-time job.
Hsiao-ju, 27, said that she began by taking amphetamines.
“I was in the escort business when I was 17 and I wanted to get slimmer,” she said. “But my husband and I ended up on heroin and I continued until I was 24.”
She said she had been on methadone for more than a year and is working a regular job at the moment.
Yang, 31, was jailed between 2006 and 2007 on drug charges. He began his methadone rehabilitation in July 2007. He now works as a gardener and says he is satisfied with what he has.
“I spend about NT$3,000 per month on methadone but it is worth every penny,” he said.
Taoyuan Mental Hospital attending psychiatrist Chou Sun-yuan (周孫元) suggested that patients who join the program take methadone for one to three years.
“Patients also have to report to the hospital every day, because methadone is prohibited and one dose only lasts for 24 hours,” Chou said.
Overdoses of methadone can be dangerous as it can cause difficulty breathing, Chou said, adding that constipation is a major side effect.
Yeh said that the DOH would look for additional funding to help more heroin addicts join the program.
“By helping them, we are also helping reduce the number of new AIDS cases,” Yeh said.
He said that addicts could seek help at 77 hospitals nationwide or call 0800-770-885 for information.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS