HOUSECALLS FOR DRUGGIES

City does methadone curbside deliveries

City health workers have begun delivering free methadone to opioid addicts amid the coronavirus crisis, sparking outrage from officials who called it “disgusting” and a “recipe for disaster.”

The program was announced Tuesday by the city’s Health Department, which said it began with a “soft launch” last month and was expanding the initiative by lowering the age of eligibility from 65 to 50.

“Methadone is a lifesaving medication,” Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot (inset below) said in a statement.

“New Yorkers who take methadone and get sick from COVID-19 should not have to choose between getting their medication and protecting their health or the health of others.”

Federal regulations previously barred home delivery of methadone, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to an emergency loosening of the rules for addicts who have tested positive for the disease, show symptoms or are at high risk if they get infected, the Health Department said.

Teams of two workers each have been specially trained and will be outfitted with masks, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to make about 1,300 curbside deliveries a month to addicts’ homes and taxpayerfunded hotels, the Health Department said.

Participants will receive at least seven days’ worth of methadone, an oral pain reliever that’s used to prevent withdrawal symptoms in addicts who are enrolled in treatment programs.

Most patients’ methadone is paid for by Medicaid or insurance, city officials

said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether deliveries cost taxpayers anything.

The program immediately came under fire. Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) called it an example of “misplaced priorities,” saying, “The Department of Health should be delivering COVIDtesting kits to communities hardest hit by the virus. “While people struggling with opioid addiction need our help and compassion, dropping off methadone doses like care packages is a recipe for disaster. “These drugs should be dispensed and administered in clinics and facilities that can provide a range of services.”

State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-SI) called the methadone deliveries “a real doozy.”

“What this says is these people aren’t worth fighting for,” he said. “The city has given up on these people

and saying they’re going to live out the rest of their lives as addicts.”

Lanza said he believes addicts should be weaned off of drugs, not given more. “I think it’s disgusting,” he said.

Councilman Joe Borelli (R-SI) said the city’s move “underscores the problems associated with methadone dependency that have been known for many years,” adding: “We need to get out of the methadone business overall.”

Meanwhile, Luke Nasta, CEO of Camelot of Staten Island, which runs several nonprofit treatment centers, said home delivery of methadone was a “necessity during the quarantine period” because “if you’re on methadone, you’re dependent on it.”

But he said that “as a long-term solution, it would be a disaster.”

“There’s an increased probability of an overdose death,” he said.

NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association head Ed Mullins called the program “unbelievable.”

“For a city that claims to have no money, it’s interesting how [Mayor] de Blasio continues to spend money on dysfunctional programs,” he said.