British Prisons Dispense Self-Service Methadone

January 5, 2010

How’s this for a snack-time quandary: Doritos, Snickers, or methadone? The synthetic opiate is commonly used to quash the cravings of heroin junkies, but dispensing the stuff involves red tape, and there’s always the risk that human error will lead to an overdose. So prisons in the UK are turning the task over to vending machines. Automated dispensers scan the fingerprints or irises of preauthorized cons, then squirt an individualized dose of the syrupy goo into a plastic cup. A watchful health care professional makes sure the prisoners swallow instead of cheek-pouching it for resale. “The treatment can only be given to the right person, at the right time, in the right dose,” declares an official statement from the UK Department of Health. (Wired)