Richard Lane: a tireless fighter for treatment of drug addiction.

ABSTRACT

After a long and courageous battle with cancer, Richard Lane died in 1994. He had been a long-term heroin addict and spent 12 years in prisons. After commencing treatment with methadone, he began to work with other addicts and helped to start Man Alive, the first methadone program in Baltimore. He later became Executive Director of Man Alive and a national leader in the effort to improve and expand methadone maintenance treatment. Among the innovations he promoted within the methadone program were on-site alcoholism treatment, protocols for poly-drug abuse, services for patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, improved pain management for methadone patients, and fewer restrictions for socially rehabilitated patients on methadone. He fought tirelessly for acceptance of methadone maintenance treatment by those in medicine, law enforcement, and politics. His accomplishments can inspire all in the addiction field to continue their efforts to improve the care of the addict.