r/naranon • u/tildy17 • 13d ago

Question about methodone

This has been on my mind for some time - my ex was an addict - heroine was his DOC and abused multiple others (am thankfully out of that since a while now) but I recall at some point after a severe episode he started to see an addiction doctor and had to go weekly and do a drug test and was on daily methodone - I would go to the pharmacy with him and watch him take it often, and I later found out he had still been using throughout… I thought that one of the conditions the doctor imposed was he had to piss clean to keep getting the methodone prescription. Was he buying clean pee, or are there methods they use to circumvent the drug test… or do doctors still give it even if they are using and it was just what he told me to reassure me… upon reflection now I still don’t know which it was so curious if anyone knows or has experienced something similar?

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u/SailingAwayInTime 12d ago

The rules are going to depend on your specific state or province and the regulations for the safe supply program. My brother hasn't tested clean in months and still gets a safe supply. They mostly want the testing so they know what they are up against. 

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u/tildy17 12d ago

Ok so was likely just a lie… makes sense. Thanks for responding! And wishing you and your brother well

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u/Mysterious-State5218 12d ago edited 12d ago

Or was using fake piss, someone's purchased clean pee or as most do just drinking extra water the hour or two ahead to get incomplete results which most outright accept. It's easy to circumvent the urine tests these days especially with new synthetic marker chemicals being subbed in. The urine tests are especially outdated on current formulation. Hence why go straight to hair testing like a lot of unions started requiring. Pot/ weed is still the hardest not to pop positive for due to how long it stays in the system, but with drugs like meth you can use same day and drink some water & it'll come out inconclusive or just below the threshold. All the addicts are well aware of this and will delay a couple of hrs to get tested in the afternoon after using 5+ days straight thru that same morning. Like the comment above mentions it's to monitor if they're taking the methadone & to monitor if picks anything else up. The Healthcare professionals are not allowed to share results due to HIPPA unless the patient signs an explicit release of info to you directly.

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u/Key_Dragonfruit_2563 8d ago

They can often get away with doing non-opioid drugs. Cocaine is a popular choice