Methadone: Chemical Incarceration

I am an ex methadone patient. I was on methadone for the better part of 10 years. It was 2002 and there were vast amounts of oxycontin and dilaudid available at the time and I unfortunately abused the medication. After less than 6 months I sought treatment. I went inpatient at a facility and was introduced to methadone there, I was told it would be a short program extending to a year at most. At that time I knew little if anything about methadone. But in reality what I thought was a Treatment Facility was a methadone clinic essentially so I went on the methadone. I spent about 2 years on it before I tried to detox, I always had such a hard time decreasing my dose. I was on 100mgs within 10 days of being a patient so detox was really hard and not encouraged. I had went through withdrawal symptoms from opiates and they would subside after 5 days, but I had never experienced anything like the withdrawal of methadone. It was months of agonizing pain to just get off of it and I ended up detoxing and going back a couple times due to the never ending symptoms. I would have to say that I had no idea what addiction was until I tried to stop taking methadone. How can a drug this devastating to you mentally, physically and financially be accepted for opiate treatment except in the very worst cases? What should have ended in 2002 has followed me and left me broken and addicted wondering where the last decade went. I often find myself asking what the difference between the Methadone Clinics and the Drug dealers and the only distinction I can find is the clinics have "immunity" if you will, to sell a drug even more addictive than any prescription drug available and put anybody regardless of age or actual addiction on a drug they know that most will never be able to stop and pursue a normal life. Despite what methadone advocates say methadone does get you high, you just don't realize it because you never come down. We are at a point where Dr's are being held accountable, why not the clinics? They come in here in rural areas and their doses far exceed what one can get through any doctor as they cannot prescribe that much. They make a market for their own drug by making it more available and far cheaper as it grows in popularity it becomes more available to street addicts who cannot tolerate such a high dose and they often die from a single dose. We are taking action against prescription pain pills but the methadone clinics are everywhere and are never held accountable. Why against prescription pain pills but the methadone clinics are everywhere and are never held accountable. Why aren't the politicians and the media going crazy with this? Is it because "clinics" have more money than drug cartels? Maybe they just buy everybody off like the other drug dealers……