CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sophia Grant has used methadone for more than 10 years to treat an addiction to painkillers. Eddy Brown has used it for 18 months.

They don't know how much longer they'll need the medication, they told lawmakers Tuesday. But both say it saved their lives.

West Virginia has nine for-profit methadone clinics, and legislators are examining how they work. The Legislature put a moratorium on new clinics in 2007.

Earlier this year, some lawmakers caused a stir when they proposed taxing methadone, which is used to treat addiction to drugs like OxyContin and heroin. Tax revenues would have funded addiction prevention, treatment and recovery programs.

The proposal failed, and some lawmakers are still worried that methadone clinics create a "revolving door" situation, where patients swap their addiction to one drug with another. They're also concerned about the growing number of deaths linked to methadone.

On Tuesday, Mark Parrino, president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, told legislators that it's true that some people must take methadone the rest of their lives. But every individual situation is different, he said.

The drug has been exhaustively researched, he said.

Many of the deaths linked to methadone stem from its use as a painkiller, Parrino said. But he cautioned that even when used for addiction, it can be lethal when combined with alcohol and other drugs.

Parrino emphasized that methadone should be combined with services like addiction counseling.

"The medication is not treatment," he said. "It's a medication."

They don't know how much longer they'll need the medication, they told lawmakers Tuesday. But both say it saved their lives.

West Virginia has nine for-profit methadone clinics, and legislators are examining how they work. The Legislature put a moratorium on new clinics in 2007.

Earlier this year, some lawmakers caused a stir when they proposed taxing methadone, which is used to treat addiction to drugs like OxyContin and heroin. Tax revenues would have funded addiction prevention, treatment and recovery programs.

The proposal failed, and some lawmakers are still worried that methadone clinics create a "revolving door" situation, where patients swap their addiction to one drug with another. They're also concerned about the growing number of deaths linked to methadone.

On Tuesday, Mark Parrino, president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, told legislators that it's true that some people must take methadone the rest of their lives. But every individual situation is different, he said.

The drug has been exhaustively researched, he said.

Many of the deaths linked to methadone stem from its use as a painkiller, Parrino said. But he cautioned that even when used for addiction, it can be lethal when combined with alcohol and other drugs.

Parrino emphasized that methadone should be combined with services like addiction counseling.

"The medication is not treatment," he said. "It's a medication."

Both Grant and Brown said they receive counseling as part of their treatment. "It's not magic by itself," Grant said.

Senate Minority Leader Don Caruth, R-Mercer, said there's a notion among lawmakers that some addicts ignore other types of treatment in favor of methadone clinics.

Caruth has advocated in the past for tough regulations on clinics, and for stopping their expansion.

"Five years ago, I had the preconceived notion, as many legislators do, and many people do, that methadone is just an excuse to continue a habit," he said.

Today, he still favors monitoring the clinics, but sees methadone treatment as an effective option, he said.

"It's hard not be very sympathetic when [methadone patients] say how wrecked their life was when they were taking drugs," he said.

Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazete.com or 304-348-1240.