Ethical dilemma: Is it ethical for the defendant to be convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) while taking the prescription medication, methadone?
Professional audience for this paper: lawyers related to DUI cases and doctors who are sued for prescribing methadone According to the recent analysis of Milliman Inc., 16% of car accidents involved at least one prescription drug, and conjointly certain prescription drugs have drawn related professional’s attention because of their side effects, such as drowsiness, dizziness, and blurred vision. In particular, as one of the most popular opioids that can lead someone into an impaired state, methadone has frequently been raised as a controversial issue regarding DUI cases. For example, in
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The most essential reason of methadone being such a controversy is that methadone has potential side effects, such as “drowsiness, dizziness, or blurred vision”, and thus can put someone under the danger of an automobile accident. It is true that the defendant may be convicted of DUI by methadone due to his inconsistent driving, but the conviction depends on a two-part test by the prosecution. First, the blood test conducted at a state-approved and certified lab must show “appropriate threshold levels of the drug in the defendant’s system” (Goodnough 1). Secondly, the police and the prosecution must prove that the driver who tests positive for the medication was impaired to “the point that he or she was incapable of safe driving” (Goodnough 1). However, both of these tests are subjective measurements of one’s level of impairment, and therefore, cannot avoid having some uncertainties.
During the blood test, for example, the presence of clots in the blood sample can artificially increase the drug concentration on the report since blood is a heterogeneous mixture, which often forms clots. The possibility of blood clotting cannot be ignored because it occurs very frequently for many reasons, such as certain
Ms. McGinnis is an 82-year-old female, with history of Alzheimer dementia, diabetes, and hypertension. Her primary caregiver is her son, Michael McGinnis. Mr. McGinnis has admitted to the ER doctor, multiply employees at Senior Care and to DHR worker on the phone that he gave his mother methadone. Ms. McGinnis is not prescribed Methadone and is mental unable to consent to taking methadone.
To my knowledge treatment centers don’t refuse clients who take methadone or buprenorphine medications. These types of medications are considered to be long-gevity prescriptions. These medications are prescribed for clients in recovery or with serve conditions. I learned the client may have to take them for the rest of their life unless the client choose otherwise. I first agreed with the client’s decline, when further reading I realized why the physician prescribed the medication and what position the physician played in this process, while the client is in restrictive care. However, the choices the client decides therefore after being released. Determines their outcome on rather or not they can truly sustain being clean. Clients have to want
Even though Methadone and Suboxone both treat opiate addiction, their use is controversial; however the benefits of their use outweigh the controversy. Especially the benefit of thousands of healthy drug free babies born to mothers that are opiate addicts, but had the choice for Methadone treatment daily, to give their unborn child the chance to be born
Methadone is a high risk for abuse. It work in the brain to change how your body feels and how it responds to pain. If one take Methadone, they will start to vomit, shaking, diarrhea, and failure to gain any weight. If someone is not using this drug correctly they will have crucial consequences. It is advised that, methadone should only be use the correct way. If you brain gets addicted to methadone and one decides to stop taking it for awhile. One may suffer from mood swings, particularly because the supply of the drug gets
Drug-impaired driving is becoming a much more common issue on Canada's streets, and the number of people driving after taking drugs is greater than those who drive after drinking. Regardless of public perception that drugs may be less harmful to drivers, evidence is growing that drug impairment contributes to collisions. Roadside saliva tests have become more accurate and cost-effective in recent years, particularly for the most commonly-used drugs. Drugs can cause you not to think through decisions before making them. When under the influence you have control over your body and who knows what would happen, it could be as extensive as waking up in the hospital or not waking up at all. The consequences are the same for drinking and driving pretty much.
Methadone is legal and as long as it is used as directed, it is also safe.
Methadone is taken in orally and survives through the digestive system so there is no need to be injected into the patient. It reaches the brain slowly, dampening the “high” that would occur with other routes of administration while also preventing withdrawal symptoms (Heroin, 2014). The advantages of using methadone for heroin addicts are its comparatively low cost and long half-life. According to the Center for Disease Control, methadone helps to restore a degree of normalcy to brain function and behavior, resulting in increased employment rates and lower risk of HIV and other diseases and criminal behavior (Methadone Maintence Treatment, 2002). However, there are a variety of different effective treatments that are available for heroin addiction, including both behavioral therapies and medications. Heroin addicts should be place on less addictive medications like Burenorphine before being placed on Methadone. Buprenorphine, overall, is safer than methadone, and it is easier for an addict to stop buprenorphine than to detox from methadone (Heroin,
¨ More than a quarter of a million Americans are enrolled in methadone clinics, where they participate in “methadone replacement” or “methadone maintenance” to treat narcotic addictions to heroin or morphine, or prescription painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, OxyContin or Vicodin.¨ (Novus Detox, 2016) Clinics that treat opioid addiction use several combinations other than methadone to be effective. In addition to daily methadone treatments, there are also random drug test to make sure the individual is complying with the program. There is also individual and group counseling that provides education and support with each being customized with goals set forth by the patient. Some addiction require patients struggling to seek professional help with a psychiatrist and/or speciality
Until recently, there was a dramatic disconnect between this research and drug court operations. The consequences of this disconnect included relapse, overdose, and death. While drug courts were designed to accommodate those in need of medical care, most operated under the misguided and dangerous practice of requiring defendants, as part of their successful program completion, to stop taking life-saving addiction medication prescribed by their physicians. This practice, which is at odds with decades of scientific and medical research, put individuals with opioid addictions in the precarious position of either having to stop taking their effective medication and risk relapse or use their medication and face incarceration. To compound matters
This project will focus on using Methadone as a pharmacological treatment strategy as well as the normal non-pharmacological treatment strategies to
There are three predominate forms of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) that have proven effective in combating opioid use disorder. Methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone have all shown to be effective in the treatment of substance use. When prescribed and monitored properly, MAT has been shown to reduce illicit drug use and reduce the rate of accidental overdose. However, while as many as 2.5 million people are suffering from substance use disorder, less than 40% have access to MAT
Methaqualone is a very dangerous drug. When the drug is combined with alcohol, the combination can be lethal. This does not stop people however. It is most common to mix this drug with alcohol, when this happens it's known as luding. As with any drug, after awhile you can develop a very high tolerance for it. Methaqualone is dangerous for the user, especially if it is used daily. The user will continually try to get the same effects as the first time they did the drug. By doing this they must take higher and higher doses to reach it. This can lead to the user becoming addicted to the drug.
“In the hands of an impaired driver, a vehicle becomes a murderous weapon.” ( ) Everyone can think of someone who has driven impaired, or even maybe you have done it yourself. The fact that one can think of someone who has driven impaired is a problem. Too many people are getting behind the wheel after drinking, smoking; or are not paying attention while they drive. Impaired driving continues to a problem although strides have been made to make a difference. There are many different types of impaired driving, each that have their own consequences. These types, and consequences will be explored in this essay.
The state of Massachusetts has been fighting a vicious battle with the spread of opioid addiction. Heroin and other opioid drug related addicts have formed a very negative outlook of themselves. A great deal of people view addicts as classic criminals. Addiction is an actual mental illness, something that the addict cannot control. Treating these struggling individuals as criminals is an unnecessary and cruel punishment. The state of Massachusetts needs to break the stigma that all opioid addicts are criminals and starting viewing opioid addiction as a serious mental illness.
We also may not know that the impact of a medicine can last long after any immediate effects have worn off. For example, we may take an OTC cold medicine at night in order to sleep better. We may assume that, come morning, the depressant effect of the medication is out of our system and that we are fine to go about our business. That isn’t always the case; studies have shown slowed reaction times and drowsiness can last up to a full day after taking an OTC medication designed to induce sleep. If we drive while in this slightly impaired state, we could potentially harm others or ourselves because we are literally falling asleep behind the wheel.