Prescribing drug of choice to opiate dependent drug users: a comparison ofclients receiving heroin with those receiving injectable methadone at a West London drug clinic
N. Metrebian et al., Prescribing drug of choice to opiate dependent drug users: a comparison ofclients receiving heroin with those receiving injectable methadone at a West London drug clinic, DRUG AL REV, 20(3), 2001, pp. 267-276
Fifty-eight long-term treatment resistant opiate-dependent drug users were
offered the choice of receiving injectable heroin or injectable methadone a
t a West London drug clinic. Drugs were dispensed on-site at the clinic wit
h weekend take-home. There was no routine ongoing supervised injecting. A c
eiling dose of 200 mg/day of heroin or methadone was set. One-third chose i
njectable methadone. Compared to those choosing heroin, these drug users we
re less likely to have used heroin or crack/cocaine before entering treatme
nt, and were more likely to have previously received treatment with injecta
ble methadone. Drug users reported choosing methadone because it was their
primary drug of addiction, and compared with heroin has a longer duration o
f action and increased strength. Problems with each drug were reported: tho
se choosing heroin complained that the upper dose limit was too low to main
tain them adequately, and some receiving methadone complained of discomfort
while injecting intravenously. While those choosing each drug had differen
t baseline characteristics, both groups were well retained in treatment and
at 3 months made significant reductions in drug use and crime, which were
sustained over the 12-month follow-up period. There was no significant diff
erence between treatment outcome between each group. There is an urgent nee
d to conduct randomized controlled trials to establish the effectiveness of
prescribing injectable methadone and heroin to inform policy and practice.