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Is Methadone a Treatment or a Drug?

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Is Methadone a Treatment or a Drug?
“It[methadone] has been heavily criticised as a "one-size fits all" approach to a complex problem”(bbc.co.uk). Therefore, the question arises, is methadone an effective treatment to stop drug addiction or do addicts return to their ways? Dan Frosch, a New York Times writer, reflects on an issue concerning jails and detention centers nationwide, drug addiction. His article, “Plan to End Methadone Use at Albuquerque Jail Prompts Alarm” focuses on the effects, costs, and realities of methadone treatment. Frosch adopts a sentimental tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences within his audience. Moreover, Frosch effectively uses ethos, pathos, and logos to prove that detention centers should provide methadone as a form of treatment to inmates with drug addictions. Frosch begins his argument with an effective use of ethos, allowing the reader to make a connection with a former drug addict and current inmate in the Albuquerque Jail. Betty Jo Lopez is 59 years old and much dependent upon her everyday doses of methadone to treat her addiction to drugs. Ms. Lopez was a reliable source to cite because she endured first-hand experience with drug addiction and methadone rehab. Usually, the audience doesn’t know what it’s like to be an addict. Therefore, by citing an inmate who experiences the realities of methadone enhances Frosch’s credibility because not many people can talk about methadone treatment and actually know what it’s like. Frosch establishes his credibility by opening the first paragraph with a description of Ms. Lopez. He describes her as 59 year-old woman who has been addicted to heroin for forty years. This emphasizes his credibility as well as Ms. Lopez’s because he is describing her as a long time addict, proving her abundance of knowledge through experience on methadone treatment. Another reliable source that enhanced Frosch’s credibility is Darren Webb, the director of Recovery Services of New Mexico. The Recovery


Cited: Frosch, Dan. "Plan to End Methadone Treatment at Albuquerque Jail Prompts Alarm." New York Times 06 Jan. 2013: 1-4. Print. Alderson, Reevel. "Methadone Policy Review to Improve Addicts ' Treatment." BBC News. BBC, 10 May 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
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