ATTITUDES TOWARD METHADONE-MAINTENANCE - IMPLICATIONS FOR HIV PREVENTION

Attitudes of opioid users toward methadone maintenance were studied us ing;semistructured field interviews. One hundred and sixty-one heroin and speedball users in San Antonio, Texas, were interviewed between 19 89 and 1992. Users were classified according to whether or not they ha d ever been on methadone maintenance. Opioid users who had never been on methadone maintenance were more likely to express a negative attitu de toward methadone maintenance than users who had been on it (50% ver sus 30%). Sources of negative attitudes fell into the following catego ries: (1) general societal disapproval of addictive drugs, including m ethadone; (2) prior experience with 12 Step groups or abstinence-based treatment programs; (3) previous forced rapid detoxification from met hadone in jail; and (4) observation of methadone maintained peers who continued to use drugs. Very few respondents reported adverse effects from methadone itself as a source of negative attitudes. Sources of po sitive attitudes included: (1) prior successful treatment with methado ne; and (2) observation of methadone patients who stopped using drugs.