Letters Page #938

Subject: Records Taken Hostage
From: jopo@voicenet.com
Date: Apr. 1, 1999

Hi Fellow Methadonians And Hepatatic Cats,

I go to a clinic in Doylestown, PA. For the most part they are very good and reliable. I've never been told, "five minutes" or," walk around the block" once. I think they are the kind of clinic that likes to think of themselves as progressive, in other words, along with the methadone they require one to go to lots of therapy (partial hospitalization with disgustingly archaic notions of 12 steps and total abstinence), and, to boot, 12 step meetings are expected. If they worked, why the f@#! would I be on methadone?!

Anyway I'm getting off track. They mean well, I think, except for the director and the greedy invisible owners, who must be making a mint! I heard methadone costs like 3 cents a gallon. For us reformed prostitutes, strippers, shoplifters, check bouncing, super scammin' sceebies, who were once used to (out of necessity) making big lumps of dough on a daily basis, but now survive on the modest generosity of today's welfare system, eighty bucks is a lot of scratch. Am I making any sense here?

Well the point of this letter is that I owe my clinic $158.43, and they will not give my records back, is that legal or what? Oh yeah, the reason I want them back is so I can transfer to a clinic that will have less in the way of mandatory counseling and meetings. I am just going to pay it, but it made me mad and this is the only place I have to vent.

bobbybare@hotmail.com