Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


12

Treating Addicts With Heroin Gains Steam

British study finds benefits in giving addicts their fix

Share

(Newser) – Giving heroin to heroin addicts may not sound like a great idea, but it could soon become the preferred treatment for hardcore addicts. Switzerland and a handful of other countries already have clinics that administer small, supervised doses to addicts, and Britain could be next after completing a four-year trial on the practice. The results were encouraging: Street-drug use among participants fell 75% in six months.

The goal, of course, is to eventually wean addicts off the drug, and the treatment is only used if detox and methadone have failed. “It’s a less than perfect treatment,” admits one researcher. “But for entrenched addicts, it gives them the first step toward getting their life together.” Of course, the idea is still controversial. But last year in Switzerland, where initially the clinics were unpopular, 68% backed a referendum to keep them.

A sign hangs in the hallway of a recently opened heroin treatment clinic, November 4, 2002 at the University of Vermont at Burlington.
A sign hangs in the hallway of a recently opened heroin treatment clinic, November 4, 2002 at the University of Vermont at Burlington.   (Getty Images)
A drug addict, shoots up a
A drug addict, shoots up a "speedball", a combination of heroin and crystal meth, at a street corner near the international border in Tijuana, Mexico Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009.   (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
11.19.09
Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention
12 comments
VIEWING:
 
WallyEFunk
Sep 28, 09 12:16 PM CDT
Better then robbing and killing to get a fix. Some are even functioning addicts too.(Wallstreet users article) I have to think PPL like these can't handle society and the stresses ,we all get from it.Ah.Beer the curse of the working class,or maybe the savior? Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+4
easterner
Sep 28, 09 12:27 PM CDT
" The goal, of course, is to eventually wean addicts off the drug, and the treatment is only used if detox and methadone have failed "..... This only supports the old adage, Once An Addict Always an Addict and may increase more addicts to want to fail detox and Methadone treatments.... "That would mean permanent, state-funded heroin clinics would be set up across the country to treat the most heavily addicted people." State-funded heroin clinics? I don't think taxpayers would like this idea. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
IN RESPONSE:
proud_prude
Sep 28, 09 1:03 PM CDT
Gotta love the Swiss-- heroin on dernarnd for their addicts-- and zero tolerance for harrnless old rnen like Polanski.
Vote up! Vote down!
0
IN RESPONSE:
wwwonderer
Sep 28, 09 4:56 PM CDT
Do you think tax payers like paying into the legal system, or better yet, the PENAL system? That's a better way to treat the issue. How much do you think it costs to keep an addict locked up? I'm willing to bet it is at least 2x as much than a treatment center. I don't know and would love for someone to set me str8.
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Dr.Gonzo
Sep 28, 09 12:32 PM CDT
Drugs are bad, mmmmkay Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+1

View all 12 comments »

LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

21 Stories

MTV Will Show DJ AM's Drug-Intervention Show

Gone Too Far features Goldstein as mentor to drug addicts

Sep 24, 09 6:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - MTV intends to air a drug-intervention reality show starring the late Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM. In Gone Too Far, Goldstein plays sober mentor to addicts. Given Goldstein’s recent death from a drug overdose, MTV was concerned the show could be seen as hypocritical or exploitative, but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • television • music • drugs • drug addiction • MTV • overdose • addiction • DJ AM • Adam Goldstein • drug overdose • Gone Too Far

Swiss Politicians Battle 'Suicide Tourism'

As Britain eases rules, Switzerland fears rush of ill bent on killing themselves

Sep 21, 09 5:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Swiss politicians have stepped up efforts to battle "suicide tourism" as British officials prepare to announce new rules expected to make it easier for citizens to cross borders to die, reports the Independent. Some 115 Britons have died at assisted suicide operations run by Dignitas in Switzerland. Assisted suicide... More »

MORE ABOUT:
suicide • assisted suicide • Switzerland • Dignitas • multiple sclerosis • Britain • clinic

New Heroin Addiction Treatment? Heroin

Scientists caution that controversial treatment has its downsides

Aug 23, 09 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Medical heroin may be effectively used to treat heroin addiction, Canadian scientists have discovered, but their dramatic findings may be railroaded over political and financial concerns, ABC News reports. Injectable diacetylmorphine, the active ingredient in heroin, resulted in 67% less illegal activity and illicit drug use after one year when... More »

MORE ABOUT:
drug addiction • heroin • scientific study • methadone

21 Stories


Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserScience on Twitter

 
drug addiction • heroin • Switzerland • addiction • alternative treatment • Britain • methadone

from our news partners