Pubdate: Sun, 22 Dec 2002
Source: Buffalo News (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The Buffalo News
Contact:  http://www.buffalonews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/61
Author: Joel Stashenko, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

DRUG RAISES HOPES FOR EXPANDING HEROIN TREATMENT

With four New Yorkers hooked on opiates for each available slot in drug 
treatment programs, state officials are rushing to make available a new 
alternative to methadone to treat addicts.

The state Health Department has issued regulations for using the drug 
buprenorphine in the treatment of addiction to heroin and other opium 
derivatives.

In October, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved use of the 
drug. Drug experts called it a promising alternative to methadone, which 
has long been used to wean addicts off heroin.

Buprenorphine is administered through a tablet that is dissolved under the 
tongue. It works by blocking the same brain receptors that heroin targets 
but without heroin's high and with weaker narcotic effects than methadone.

Charles Curie, administrator of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental 
Health Services Administration, said buprenorphine will allow physicians to 
treat patients for opiate addictions in the same way they treat people for 
diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses.

"A qualified physician will be able, for the first time, to prescribe an 
anti-addiction medication in an office setting and treat opiate addiction 
as any other chronic disease," Curie said.

The entry into the buprenorphine age for addiction treatment dates back to 
2000, when Congress passed the Drug Abuse Treatment Act. It authorized 
physicians to prescribe approved drugs to addicts from their offices, which 
represents a potentially vast widening of the availability of treatment 
from the current network of methadone clinics and other drug centers.

Under federal rules, physicians must undergo eight hours of training and 
obtain a waiver so they can prescribe the drug.

The state Health Department says the state has 125 authorized methadone 
clinics and substance abuse programs capable of treating about 46,000 New 
Yorkers. That represents less than one-fourth of the estimated 200,000 
people addicted to opiates in New York.

The state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services said addicts in 
many rural areas of the state, who do not have access to methadone clinics 
or state-licensed drug treatment centers, will be able to easily get care 
for their conditions with buprenorphine.

"This is an exciting opportunity to expand services because this is 
actually the first prescription drug to treat disorders in an office-based 
setting," said spokeswoman Jennifer Sandu.

Buprenorphine is itself addicting, and the Health Department's regulations 
are designed to curtail the potential misuse of the drug, spokeswoman 
Kristine Smith said.

Doctors and pharmacies must notify the department of every instance where 
buprenorphine is prescribed - as they must with other controlled substances 
- - so the state can track the drug's use.
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