Document 0956
 DOCN  M9440956
 TI    Diminished illicit drug use as a consequence of long-term methadone
       maintenance.
 DT    9404
 AU    Gottheil E; Sterling RC; Weinstein SP; Department of Psychiatry and
       Human Behavior, Jefferson Medical; College, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
 SO    J Addict Dis. 1993;12(4):45-57. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/94122224
 AB    In the twenty-five years since its introduction as a treatment for
       opiate addiction, methadone maintenance has generated considerable
       controversy regarding both its appropriateness as a treatment modality
       and its efficacy in diminishing opiate abuse. Given current concerns
       regarding the spread of HIV amongst IV drug abusers, the role of
       methadone maintenance may be more important than ever. The present study
       was designed to examine continued illicit substance abuse by 229
       patients enrolled in methadone treatment as a function of time in
       treatment (three months to over 10 years). Patients' urinalysis results
       collected over a 3 month period indicated that (a) cocaine use is a
       problem amongst methadone maintained individuals and does not appear to
       be related to length of time on the program, (b) cocaine use did not
       lead to escalated opiate and other illicit drug abuse, and (c) opiate
       abuse decreased significantly with time in treatment. Specifically,
       while 35% of the patients enrolled for less than 12 months were opiate
       free for the 3 month period, that value increased to 71% for patients
       enrolled for more than 4 years, and 85% for patients remaining in
       treatment for over 10 years. These results based on urinalysis support
       the conclusion of Ball and Ross (1991), based on ASI scores and
       criminality data, that methadone is an effective treatment modality for
       opiate addicted individuals.
 DE    Cocaine/URINE  Crime/PREVENTION & CONTROL  Female  Human  Male
       Methadone/*THERAPEUTIC USE  *Narcotics/URINE  Substance Use
       Disorders/*DRUG THERAPY  *Treatment Outcome  Urine/CHEMISTRY  JOURNAL
       ARTICLE

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