title: Methadone, a contested substance: Danish methadone policy in the 1970s.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  During the 1970s in Denmark, there was a great deal of controversy about the role of methadone in Danish drug policy. At stake were not just epistemological issues about how to explain drug problems or indeed technical issues about the best possible treatment for such problems, but also social issues about how drug problems and drug treatment affected and were affected by social change. The paper uses an analytical framework in which drugs are co-constructed with their social worlds. It uses this framework to investigate how conflicts emerged about the different ways of conceiving of the relationship between methadone and Danish society.
  
  
  METHODS
  Documentary data from the archives of a pressure group of parents of children with drug problems, the archives of an addiction doctor, newspaper articles, and policy documents from that time were coded in order to identify and analyze central controversies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The methadone controversy of the 1970s was not just about the best treatment methods, but also a matter of the future of the Danish welfare state. The nation debated whether it should medicalise a social problem or solve it through social reform.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Drug treatment is not just a technical issue, but also a political issue and this needs to be accounted for when making drug policy.
authors.affiliation: Center for Alcohol and Drug Research, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 10, Building 1322, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Electronic address: eh@crf.au.dk.
authors.forename: Esben
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Houborg
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003718:Denmark; D055030:Drug Users / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D033161:Government Regulation; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008691:Methadone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058850:Opiate Substitution Treatment / Q000639:trends; D011050:Policy Making; D011057:Politics; D011287:Prejudice; D011639:Public Opinion; D012919:Social Behavior; D013240:Stereotyping; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D008691:Methadone
keywords: Drug policy; Methadone