USA. Climate disasters create life-threatening disruptions for people on methadone

U.S. reliance on opioid treatment programs as exclusive dispenser of methadone is untenable. 

Climate disasters are now part of America’s day-to-day landscape — including our health care system. In recent weeks, we have watched devastating flooding move through Texas while slow-moving storms crawled up the East Coast, drenching already saturated landscapes, resulting in more flooding. Last year, Hurricane Helene washed out much of central North Carolina’s roads and infrastructure, while the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in Southern California devastated entire communities.

More and more, we are seeing news articles pop up about how to access needed medications if caught in a climate disaster, or how to prepare for climate disasters if you have a disability. Some governmental steps are being taken to help. For instance, in May, the Missouri governor signed an executive order to assist individuals affected by recent storms in receiving prescribed medications, even if their prescriptions were lost or destroyed, their records are unavailable, or their original prescribing physician is unavailable.

However, that won’t help people on methadone. (Stat News, USA, 23.07.2025)

https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/23/methadone-clinics-otp-climate-disaster-disrupted-treatment-texas-floods-hurricane-helene/