Methadone: Curse or cure?

This article does a decent job of presenting one addict's experience with methadone and a couple professional's opinions on it. Unfortunately the discussion is limited to opinions. One statement that leaped out at me is this:

"I hear that from a lot of health-care professionals too, who don't have a lot of faith in it, you know, because (addicts) want that methadone. But, you know, they're not sticking something in their arm. There's so much hepatitis and HIV out there and it's dangerous. So, maybe it is another drug. The harm-reduction drug works very effectively for the majority of people," she says.

Opposition to it is based on addicts wanting it? That's a pretty reductionist characterization of those who don't have faith in it. It's also based on an assumption that could well be false. A U.K. study found that 60% of methadone clients would prefer to be in abstinence focused treatment.