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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN]
#10892143 - 08/19/09 07:17 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Makes perfect sense ..
Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction August 19, 2009 - canada.com
OTTAWA — A Canadian study that found giving heroin to hardcore drug addicts at a supervised clinic leads to a higher rate of recovery than giving them methadone was published Thursday in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
The study, titled North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI), studied whether heroin-assisted therapy benefits people who suffer from opiate addictions. The study was released in October 2008, but was not published until Thursday.
The NAOMI report concluded that injecting addicts with diacetylmorphine, the active ingredient in heroin, was more effective than oral methadone.
Canadian scientists monitored 251 drug addicts in Montreal and Vancouver, the two cities with the largest heroin-addicted populations in Canada. The participants got drugs for 12 months under the supervision of nurses, doctors, psychiatrists and social workers.
During the trial, 115 addicts received the medical heroin, 111 received methadone and 25 received hydromorphone — a licensed opiate for pain relief — starting in March 2007.
The study found that those on the diacetylmorphine had an 88 per cent better chance of kicking the habit, compared to 54 per cent in the methadone group. Further, the reduction in rates of illicit-drug use or other illegal activity was 67 per cent in the diacetylmorphine group and nearly 48 per cent in the methadone group.
Dr. Martin Schechter, one of the lead researchers of the study, said the publication of their work "feels like a vindication" of the criticism the study has received. One such criticism was speculation that addicts may report false results to increase their chance of more free drugs in the future.
"The New England Journal of Medicine is one of the most prestigious journals in the world and it's a validation of the quality of the scientific work we have done," he said. "It puts the best seal of approval on a study and that does have an affect on policy-makers."
Schechter said an editorial in the journal points out that giving addicts heroin is not a new idea and that the method has resurfaced in Europe and now North America.
Following NAOMI, a further study was announced in June called SALOME — Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness. Schecter, who will be also involved in that study, said they are currently trying to secure funding for the project. The SALOME will give more than 200 addicts in Montreal and Vancouver heroin treatment in pill and injectable forms.
With the new study, scientists hope to prove that hydromorphone is just as effective as prescribing heroine to treat addicts. Schechter said the addicts given the hydromorphone could not tell the difference from heroin.
"It would be effective where heroin is a non-starter because of political reasons, for example (in) the United States where they would use a licensed opiate for pain," he said. "If we could prove this, then it could be licensed for addiction."
In the editorial in Thursday's Journal, Virginia Berridge says the findings of the Canadian study are widely supported in Europe, but have not been in the United States. The Australian government discontinued a heroin trial in the 1990s.
"The results of this trial may be added to those from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland," Berridge said. "Switzerland has 10 years of experience in the prescription of heroin, and in a November 2008 referendum, 68 per cent of voters were in favour of its continued prescription."
Meantime, the Harper government opposes Insite, a Vancouver-based facility that allows drug users to inject heroin and cocaine under medical supervision, and is embroiled in a legal battle to shut it down. The site, which opened in 2003, is supported by local and provincial governments.
The federal government argues money should not be spent on drug use, instead directing funds toward prevention and treatment of substance addiction.
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Coaster
Baʿal



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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: veggie]
#10892225 - 08/19/09 07:33 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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> suboxone > heroin > methadone
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canadadreaming


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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: Coaster]
#10892317 - 08/19/09 07:47 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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suboxone is nowhere near better than heroin.
FAIL
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Dr.Myco87
Im a "Reader"


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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: Coaster]
#10892347 - 08/19/09 07:53 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Coaster said:
> suboxone > heroin > methadone
Don't even come close to agreeing. I would say Heroin > Methadone > Suboxone, IMO. I'm on MMA and I wish the U.S. had heroin clinics, not that Methadone didn't save my life because it did, but Methadone just takes so fuckin' long to get off of that it get's some people down and they just return to using.
-------------------- "I don’t do drugs. I am drugs." -Salvador Dali "I’ve never had a problem with drugs. I’ve had problems with the police." -Keith Richards "Reality is a crutch for people who can’t cope with drugs." -Lily Tomlin
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beforetimetook
Ghenghis KhranKing of theHorde



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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: Dr.Myco87]
#10894371 - 08/20/09 12:19 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I'll second the disagreement with coaster...
No way is suboxone second best, all the people I know on it sell it and still abuse heroin, nothing takes away the physical cravings...
-------------------- ain't no place I'd rather be
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zenman223
The last Mohican



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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: beforetimetook]
#10894791 - 08/20/09 01:16 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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those are some lucky bastards! yeah im on suboxone now and i dont see how it could be better than H. i dont even like it, i mean its great for withdrawls but it dont get me high and it tastes fuckn horrible!
-------------------- "I think I am, therefore I become." "In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." - Mark Twain
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Coaster
Baʿal



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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: beforetimetook]
#10894842 - 08/20/09 01:24 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
beforetimetook said: I'll second the disagreement with coaster...
No way is suboxone second best, all the people I know on it sell it and still abuse heroin, nothing takes away the physical cravings...
but if ur on it u cant abuse h
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pasucks
Stranger


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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: Coaster]
#10896164 - 08/20/09 09:00 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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A Canadian study that found giving heroin to hardcore drug addicts at a supervised clinic leads to a higher rate of recovery than giving them methadone
I don't see how their is any rate of recovery when actually your still shooting dope lol. But subs don't work for shit not like methadone Ive been on both and continued to get high on subs but got clean since I've been on methadone. But like dude above me said subs are way easier to get off of than methadone.
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Nibiru
Mistress

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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: veggie]
#10905739 - 08/21/09 04:18 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I started using heroin in 1996 at 36 years old. I started on Meth in 2002 and got off in June 2006. I am the only person in my old Meth program that got off within 5 years. I went to Suboxone and just got off that June of this year. I started on 2 - 2mg pill then in January I went down to 1 -2mg pill and gradually weaned myself off. I went to a 3-day detox, felt raggedy for about a week then was OK. My therapist says it was easier for me because I started using so late in life - I don't agree with that because Heroin is very seductive - I don't care how long one uses, it can suck you in and hold on to your ass like a Pitt Bull.
The Meth: I could smell in my sweat for MONTHS! It's worse than heroin! I would not recommend it for opiate addiction at all. The Suboxone was extremely easy to come off and there was no residue in my system. I could tell because everything I take comes out in my excretions, esp. my sweat.
If I were to recommend something it would definately be Suboxone. There are no cravings, you can sleep and your mind is completely clear - no nodding.
I had a relapse early this summer for a month and I used methocarbamol (muscle relaxer), elevil and Claritin and my sleeping pills - Lunest for the first 2 days to get through the chippy. My digestion was a little off but that was it. No ore of that for me. After all the hard work I did to get opiates out of my life.
Opiate addiction is very difficult and folks just have to find what works best for them.
Mostly, one has to accept that they like getting high and that there is always a choice. You can choose to use or not but either way, you're still a human being.
-------------------- Nibiru Waiting
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Coaster
Baʿal



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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: Dr.Myco87]
#10905761 - 08/21/09 04:20 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Dr.Myco87 said: Don't even come close to agreeing. I would say Heroin > Methadone > Suboxone, IMO. I'm on MMA and I wish the U.S. had heroin clinics, not that Methadone didn't save my life because it did, but Methadone just takes so fuckin' long to get off of that it get's some people down and they just return to using.
Quote:
Dr.Myco87 said:
Quote:
Coaster said:
> suboxone > heroin > methadone
Don't even come close to agreeing. I would say Heroin > Methadone > Suboxone, IMO. I'm on MMA and I wish the U.S. had heroin clinics, not that Methadone didn't save my life because it did, but Methadone just takes so fuckin' long to get off of that it get's some people down and they just return to using.
Quote:
If I were to recommend something it would definately be Suboxone. There are no cravings, you can sleep and your mind is completely clear - no nodding.
Quote:
If I were to recommend something it would definately be Suboxone. There are no cravings, you can sleep and your mind is completely clear - no nodding.
Quote:
If I were to recommend something it would definately be Suboxone. There are no cravings, you can sleep and your mind is completely clear - no nodding.
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canadadreaming


Registered: 03/20/09
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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: Coaster]
#10908285 - 08/21/09 10:09 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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this is why coaster spends all his time on the computer
Dumbass
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Nova

Registered: 10/16/02
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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: veggie]
#10908606 - 08/21/09 10:51 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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My question is when will the US wise up and give it a chance? I would be cynical and say that they never will because we are backwards/ignorant/hypocritical, but I think that there is a chance, once someone can make a giant heap of money off of it.
I knew pot would always stay illegal (even though it makes no sense) and then bam, throw the dollar signs into the equation (california) and now it looks like a real possibility.
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TODAY
Battletoad


Registered: 09/25/03
Posts: 10,218
Loc: Metropolis City, USA
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Re: Heroin Better Than Methadone for Treating Addiction [CAN] [Re: Nova]
#10909132 - 08/22/09 12:13 AM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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What I don't understand about the clinical heroin treatment facilities is...are addicts supposed to show up three or four times a day to get a shot? that would be extraordinarily impractical for the junky with a job to go to.
--------------------
ca'rouse (k-rouz) intr.v. To engage in boisterous, drunken merrymaking.
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