Doctors will be able to start prescribing buprenorphine, a new treatment for heroin addiction, in the privacy of their offices when the medication reaches pharmacies next month, federal officials said yesterday.
Unveiling a national campaign to educate doctors and patients, officials said the treatment should enable thousands of addicts who do not want to go to methadone clinics - or who cannot get into the crowded programs - to set out on the road to recovery.
"This major advancement in substance abuse treatment will provide more options to people in need of drug treatment," said Charles G. Curie, administrator of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
"It permits doctors to treat addiction to heroin or other opioids, including prescription painkillers, just like any other medical condition, such as diabetes or hypertension," Curie said.
Congress passed a law two years ago that enabled doctors to prescribe buprenorphine tablets in their offices after taking an eight-hour training course. But it took another two years for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve its use, doing so in October.
Odis Rivers, a recovering heroin addict who lives in Baltimore, stepped forward at a news briefing yesterday to say that the medication enabled him to quit using heroin after 32 years. His habit had ruined two marriages and estranged him from his children.
He said he entered "detox" programs numerous times but kept reverting to heroin when the craving became unbearable. He was afraid to try methadone because he had heard too many stories, which he now regards as untrue, that the drug was harmful.
In 1998, Rivers heard from another addict who had enrolled in a clinical trial in Detroit that buprenophine had helped her kick heroin. That year, Rivers enrolled, too, and said he has been off heroin ever since.
"I was able to start using my head and think and make good decisions," he said. "I started feeling a lot better and more relaxed. This is something that can help addicts become responsible persons."
He added, "There is no way you can just stop all by yourself."
With his doctor's guidance, Rivers began tapering his dosage two years ago and soon was able to stop taking it altogether. He says he hasn't relapsed into heroin use, though he attends a 12-step program to stay in recovery.
