Heroin prescribing

Metrebian N, Shanahan W, Stimson GV et al. (1996). Heroin prescribing in the United Kingdom an overview. European Addiction Research, 2, 194-200... 

Strang J Sheridan J (1997a). Heroin prescribing in the British System of the mid 1990s data from the 1995 national survey of community pharmacies in England and Wales. Drug and Alcohol Review, 16, 7-16... 

True. Whilst many drugs prescribed by a doctor can be very good for your health, there are many others that can be very harmful to your health, e.g. heroin, nicotine, cannabis, etc. It should be remembered that even medicinal drugs prescribed by the doctor can be harmful if misused. 

Drugs with no therapeutic use (cannabis, LSD) and so are not prescribed Drugs with medical use — heroin and morphine for pain relief, amphetamine for narcolepsy and cocaine... 

Heroin can be smoked ( chasing the dragon ), sniffed or prepared for injection. Opioids prescribed for medical use may be used for non-medical reasons, especially by heroin users who cannot otherwise get hold of heroin. 

Oliver P, Keen J and Mathers N (2002). Deaths from drugs of abuse in Sheffield 1997-1999 What are the implications for GPs prescribing to heroin addicts Family Practice, 19(1), 93-94. 

Subutex and Suboxone are unique not so much for their chemical makeup or mode of operation, but for the regulatory hurdles they overcame. Unlike other pharmacotherapies for heroin addiction (e.g, methadone, naltrexone, ORLAAM °), which can only be dispensed by specialized Opioid Treatment Clinics, specially-trained doctors are permitted to prescribe Subutex and Suboxone drugs in a standard office setting under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) of 2000."... 

D) He abuses heroin and should be prescribed methadone maintenance. 

Reviewing her history, it appeared that she had used heroin by injection for five years before being first prescribed methadone. She was from a relatively isolated small town where the limited network of users had few links with treatment services. She used heroin with her then husband, and both were eventually referred to the clinic after he had been charged with supplying the drug. They separated soon afterwards, and while he remained in treatment for only a short period before leaving the area, Amanda has been receiving prescribed medication since that time. 

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