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Development of

The document discusses the development of buprenorphine and naltrexone as medications for opioid addiction, highlighting their FDA approvals and usage in treatment. It emphasizes the effectiveness and cost benefits of maintenance treatment for opioid addiction, supported by a California study showing significant economic returns on treatment investments. The findings indicate that treatment not only aids in recovery but also reduces crime-related costs, making it financially advantageous for taxpayers.

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6 views3 pages

Development of

The document discusses the development of buprenorphine and naltrexone as medications for opioid addiction, highlighting their FDA approvals and usage in treatment. It emphasizes the effectiveness and cost benefits of maintenance treatment for opioid addiction, supported by a California study showing significant economic returns on treatment investments. The findings indicate that treatment not only aids in recovery but also reduces crime-related costs, making it financially advantageous for taxpayers.

Uploaded by

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Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Development of

buprenorphine

Information on the development of the latest

successful maintenance medication, buprenorphine,

is in ìDEA classification of buprenorphineî

below and TIP 40, Clinical Guidelines

for the Use of Buprenorphine in the Treatment

of Opioid Addiction (CSAT 2004a).

Development of naltrexone

Naltrexone is the only pure opioid antagonist of

the medications described here (see chapter 3).

In the early 1980s, the National Institute on

Drug Abuse (NIDA) completed initial testing of

naltrexone to treat opioid addiction, and FDA

approved naltrexone for this use in 1984. In

1995, naltrexone also received FDA approval

as a preventive treatment for relapse to alcohol

use among patients dependent on alcohol. Some

opioid treatment providers have found that

naltrexone is most useful for highly motivated

patients who have undergone detoxification

from opioids and need additional support

to avoid relapse or who desire an expedited

detoxification schedule because of external

circumstances. Naltrexone also may benefit

some patients in the beginning stages of opioid

use and addiction. Other patient groups

frequently have demonstrated poor compliance

with long-term naltrexone therapy, mainly

because naltrexone neither eases craving for

the effects of illicit opioids when used as directed

nor produces withdrawal symptoms when


discontinued (Tai et al. 2001).

Public Policy Studies and

Reports Since 1993

Analyses since the publication of TIP 1 have

shown that maintenance treatment for opioid

addiction is effective in both treatment outcomes

and costs.

California Drug and Alcohol

Treatment Assessment

In 1994, the California

Department of Alcohol

and Drug Programs

published the results

of a pioneering largescale

study of the

effectiveness, benefits,

and costs of substance

abuse treatment in

California. Using State

databases, provider

records, and followup

interviews with treatment

participants, the

study detailed the

effects of treatment on

participant behavior

including drug and

alcohol use, criminal

activity, health, health

care use, and income;

the costs of treatment; and the economic value of

treatment to society (Gerstein et al. 1994).


Among the California Drug and Alcohol

Treatment Assessmentís findings were the

following:

ï Treatment was cost beneficial to taxpayers,

with the cost averaging $7 returned for every

dollar invested (Gerstein et al. 1994). ìEach

day of treatment paid for itself (the benefits

to taxpaying citizens equaled or exceeded the

costs) on the day it was received, primarily

through an avoidance of crimeî (Gerstein et

al. 1994, p. iv). ìRegardless of the modality

of care, treatment-related economic savings

outweighed costs by at least 4 to 1î (Gerstein

et al. 1994, p. 90).

History

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