I am currently in a situation where there is no doctor at my methadone maintenance treatment facility, so they say without a doctor they can't let me lower doses. They have been operating for 3 months without letting anyone new into the program, not allowing anyone to taper off, increase dosage, or to get step ups in program ect. I currently have an AMAZING job opportunity that can change my life for the best. However it conflicts with clinic hours on many days of the week. Despite the job I have been wanting off methadone anyways, because I've been clean for 8 months now and feel so strong and confident about tapering off and living a clean life with a great career.
However anytime I ask for some way to taper off methadone the director and I ended up in a yelling arguement because he denies me tapering but always says I have the freedom to leave the program anytime I want (cold turkey). He did not work here when I started the program, and the previous employees informed me I could TAPER off whenever I wanted to. Now I feel so stuck with no options! The director hates me... He makes fun of me for talking quickly because of my anxiety that he provokes, he says I only talk quickly and get anxious because I used to use heroin. Except I was diagnosed with acute anxiety disorder and was taking small doses of Xanax for it long before my heroin addiction or treatment. This is only a single case of a handful of the director of this clinic mocking me. My question: Can they legally keep me from tapering off methadone? I don't want to wait another 3-6 months waiting for a new doctor to decide to move to our insignificant town, and i don't want this opportunity I have to pass me by! I hardly have any options, so I am not sure what I can or should do. This place used to be so special. Now all but 1 employee has quit and been replaced, and it is a nightmare they won't let me out of. If you know the rules or laws behind this please inform me it would help me immensely! thanks a ton in advance this means everything to me and the clinic doesn't seem to acknowledge it.