ResearchPublications

“Our experiences as MMT patients and advocates show that the MMT system has many underexamined problems, exacerbated by COVID-19 and for people with intersectional challenges. We feel that punitive high-threshold clinics make people reluctant to enter treatment and reinforce perceptions that MMT difficulties result from individual noncompliance rather than institutions misaligned to patient needs. Ideally, MMTs would integrate harm reduction practices and person-centered care, even within the current regulatory environment. Some existing MMT programs are already moving toward this ideal, such as the Community Medical Services opioid treatment on demand clinics in Arizona, Ohio, and Wisconsin, which offer 24-hour induction and expanded dosing hours. As one USU member noted, “MMTs do not have to change much about how they operate to operate in a humane way.”” (p. S121).