From bayonet-wielding Black Panthers to skeptical politicians, methadone treatment has weathered many challenges in its four decades as the premier intervention for opiate addiction, the Associated Press reported Aug. 12.

Beny Primm, director of the Addiction Research Treatment Corp., recalled fearing for his life during the '60s visit to his methadone program by the Black Panthers. "They were going to kill me," he said. "They thought I was part of the white man's way of enslaving black folk, and one of the ways they enslaved black folk was to put them on methadone."

The methadone program at Beth Israel Medical Center recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, and the death of methadone pioneer Vincent Dole has focused new attention on the treatment. Still, mistrust of methadone persists. "There are no votes to be garnered by supporting methadone," said Robert Newman, former director of the Beth Israel program and president emeritus of Continuum Health Partners. "The knee-jerk reaction of most voters when they hear someone wants to shut clinics down is applause."

Some still object to methadone maintenance as substituting one addiction for another, and a recent wave of methadone overdoses -- primarily resulting from doctors prescribing the drug as a painkiller -- hasn't helped either.

But supporters say methadone has proven to be cheap, long-lasting, and effective. Attorney Lisa Torres, who has been on methadone for 16 years, says taking the drug is the same as taking any other prescription medicine. But addicts face some serious hurdles in accessing methadone, including having to travel to a clinic on a regular basis -- often daily -- to get the drug. Those who get take-home doses face frequent urine testing.

"This is a magnificent medicine," Torres said. "The problem is what you have to do to get it." Experts hope the methadone alternative buprenorphine, which can be prescribed in a doctor's office, will help alleviate the problem.