Heroin abuse treatment

Gerra G, Marcato A, Caccavari R et al. (1995). Clonidine and opiate receptor antagonists in the treatment of heroin addiction. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 12, 35-41. 

Bilsen, H.P.J.G. van (1987) Heroin addiction morals revisitedJournal of substance abuse treatment, 4 127-34. 

Capture-recapture models are another method based on probability considerations, which can be undertaken without additional field research.11 If in one register (e.g. arrest register) 5000 persons are found (for possession of heroin) and in a second register (e.g. treatment register) 2000 persons are found (for treatment of heroin abuse), and there are 400 persons who appear in both registries, it can be assumed that 20% (400/2000) of the drug addicts have been arrested, so that the total heroin addict population could be around 25,000 (5000/20%), five times larger than the total number of arrested heroin users. Results can usually be improved... 

Heroin abusers comprise the vast majority of those in treatment for opiate abuse. According to the SAMH-SA s Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), only 1% of admissions for addiction treatment recorded in 1999 were related to opiates other than heroin. However, the number of these admissions that was for opium itself cannot be determined from the available data because opium is categorized with all other drugs with morphinelike effects. Methadone was part of the treatment plan for 22% of those admitted. 

Political and social forces currently contribute to the demand for drug treatment, just as these same forces in the 1960s pushed the growth of treatment of heroin abuse. These trends reaffirm the importance of social and political factors in how U.S. society deals with alcohol and other drug use. 

G. Gerra, A. Mercato, R. Caccavari, B. Fontanesi, R. Delsignore, G. Fertonani, P. Avanzini, P. Rustichelli, and M. Passeri, Cloni-dine and Opiate Receptor Antagonists in the Treatment of Heroin Addiction. J. Substance Abuse Treatment, 12,35 1,1995. 

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