Suboxone: Good? Or Bad?

I was at a conference last week and a very well respected psychiatrist was speaking on Pharmacology. In his presentation he spoke about putting people on Suboxone maintenance. My first thought was “Really? You believe in that?” Obviously I did not express my thoughts out loud, but I thought to myself that this physician might be part of the problem that we have in the recovery community these days.

Here is my thought on Suboxone. We at Sunrise Detox, use it as a detox medication, and when people leave Sunrise Detox, there are no prescriptions given. They are drug-free, which in my eyes is what sobriety is.

So I pose this question to everybody out there. Here is the scenario:

Thirty-five year old heroin addict, skipping out on his job, stealing from his children, running around on his wife, and when he goes to one of these clinics, the doctor puts him on a Suboxone maintenance program. And now, our thirty-five year old heroin addict is not stealing from his kids’ piggy bank, is showing up to work on time and being a reliable husband.

Here is the question I pose; is he in recovery?

My personal opinion is no. I say no because he is still dependent on a narcotic medication. I guess I feel so strongly about this because at times I feel that Suboxone could be going down the road of Methadone. And , as someone who was on the Methadone program for two years, it did not help my recovery at all. In fact, it enhanced my addiction--it gave me a legal way to get high.

The question that I really want to leave you all with is- “Is Suboxone the next Methadone?”

This is a topic I feel very strongly about and it is one that I have discussed with many professionals and people in recovery. I would really love feedback on this topic, and plan to revisit it again.

Is Suboxone part of the recovery, or are we just changing seats on the Titanic?