CLONIDINE USE AND ABUSE AMONG METHADONE PROGRAM APPLICANTS AND PATIENTS

Forty-eight consecutive applicants and 30 known clonidine-abusing meth adone patients at three methadone treatment programs were surveyed reg arding their use of clonidine. Two distinct patterns of clonidine use emerged. Of 22 applicants who took clonidine illicitly, 15 used it pri marily to decrease opioid withdrawal, as well as for its sedating effe ct. Applicants mostly obtained it from physicians, used an average dos e of 0.37 mg at a time, and about one third believed clonidine to be a ddictive. In contrast, clonidine-using patients took clonidine primari ly for its psychoactive effects, including the interaction with methad one, in addition to decreasing opioid withdrawal. Patients obtained cl onidine frequently on the street and from family or friends, but less from physicians. The average reported dose for patients was 0.6 mg. Th e vast majority of these patients felt clonidine was addictive. Our fi ndings, when coupled with the risk inherent in clonidine overdose, sug gest that further research into the identification and treatment of cl onidine abuse among methadone patients is warranted. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.