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Federal Regulation of Methadone Treatment
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For nearly three decades, methadone hydrochloride (6-dimethylamino-4, 4- diphenyl-3-heptanone hydrochloride) has been the primary means of treating opiate addiction. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1947 for analgesic and antitussive uses, methadone was shown to be effective in treating opiate addiction in the mid-1960s and was approved by FDA for this use in late 1972. Pharmacologically, methadone is a weak-acting opiate agonist (that is, it imitates the action of an opiate, such as heroin) that does not generate the euphoria of an opiate but does reduce symptoms of opiate withdrawal. Today, an estimated 115,000 individuals receive methadone treatment for opiate addiction, and thousands more have benefited from it in the past. The effectiveness of methadone treatment of opiate addicts has been established in many studies conducted over three decades. Methadone- maintained patients show improvement in a number of outcomes, after an adequate dose (usually 60–120 mg per day) is established. Consumption of all illicit drugs, especially heroin, declines. Crime is reduced, fewer individuals become HIV-positive, and individual functioning is improved. These outcomes reflect the three objectives of methadone treatment: assisting the individual addict, enhancing public safety, and safeguarding public health. Outcomes serving these objectives are realized most often by the combined effects of the medication and the counseling provided by good treatment programs. The two factors limiting methadone's effectiveness are the multiple health and social problems of methadone maintenance patients, and the variability in quality of treatment programs.
Richard A. Rettig and Adam Yarmolinsky - Personal Name
0-309-59862-1
NONE
Management
English
1995
1-251
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