Testimony in SUPPORT of HF 4014

I lead Safer From Harm, a coalition of diverse organizations, from faith to racial justice to law enforcement organizations, that support public policies that improve access to harm reduction tools. [...] It is considered a “gold standard” treatment for long-term opioid use recovery.1 It can help people return to healthy, stable lives, able to work, meet family obligations, and do all of the things we want our loved ones and neighbors to do. [...] Methadone is proven in study after study to be more effective for long-term recovery than treatments that do not utilize medication.2 In particular, methadone patients are 33 percent less likely to use illicit opioids and 4.44 times more likely to remain in treatment versus individuals in non- medication treatment programs.3 In addition, patients taking methadone are 59 to 80 percent less likely t. [...] Despite the fact that access to take-home doses of the medication greatly benefits patient stability and adherence and allows them to live normal lives, many patients must travel up to six days a week to a clinic to take their methadone in person, a requirement not in place for any other prescription drug in this country.5 Some, especially in rural Minnesota, must travel an hour or more each way.6. [...] Relaxed restrictions on methadone access during the COVID-19 pandemic did not lead to increases in overdose deaths or diversion, as some opponents feared they might.8 Recognizing the benefits of methadone and findings from the COVID-era changes, the federal government recently adjusted its regulations to give doctors more flexibility over which patients may receive take-home doses and when.9 These.