It is not unusual for government employees who are methadone patients to file - and win - employment discrimination cases.

The story is based on an encounter the writer had outside his office with two methadone patients.

And many clinics are too tolerant of methadone patients who use other drugs.

My methadone patients clean up their acts when they understand there are real consequences for using drugs.

"We hear a good deal of trepidation and discomfort that some methadone patients are experiencing," he said.

The best indication is that we've had to start cocaine groups for methadone patients.

The expansion of group therapy has been the main response to the increase in cocaine addicts among the methadone patients.

Seventy percent of the methadone patients hold regular jobs.

"There's a completely different set of expectations," said a methadone patient at Montefiore.

At Montefiore, however, the program is built around the methadone patients.