A Different Way To Treat Opiate Addictions

(March 3, 2008) -- A different kind of drug addiction treatment program is in the process of being implemented at four behavioral health centers in West Virginia. Those addicted to opiates are the focus of the the medication assisted treatment which uses a drug called buprenorphine.

"It's a medication that stops withdrawal," says Eric Haram who is a Coach with the Advancing Recovery Program, one of the groups helping implement the treatment in this state.

"Opiate withdrawal is when the vast majority of, what we call, public safety and public health issues occur. That's when folks are desperate for a high and that's when we find people engaging in risky behaviors," says Haram.

The behavioral centers involved include Prestera, Seneca Health Services, Valley Health Care Systems and Westbrook Health Services in partnership with the Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

"Efforts like this would be designed to provide state of the art treatment for individuals who have this problem," says Prestera Center Director of Addiction Services Genise Lalos. It's a problem that's growing. She says the number of people with opiate addictions has doubled in West Virginia every year since 2001.

Those who are part of the treatment program would be administered the drug through a physician who they would see a couple of times a week on an outpatient basis. Lalos says it would be just one component of an overall treatment plan.

"It's very important that they have in place a good solid recovery plan and that that's grounded with the clinical treatment so that when the medication component of that is over then they have built then a lifestyle that's conducive to their recovery," says Lalos in an interview with MetroNews.

Lalos says buprenorphine works for those who are in withdrawal and the drug will, likely, be stopped within a year of treatment. She says good candidates for the treatment will want to get off opiates. "The individual has to be truly motivated for treatment and desire to not only stop using opiates but also other drugs as well and to build a recovery plan."

Buprenorphine is being used already in some areas in West Virginia. Haram says it is not the same as methadone. "It is an office based medication. It was approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to be delivered from a physician's office rather than a clinic setting where you have a large number of individuals."

West Virginia is one of six states to share in a $2.2 million grant award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Foundation's goal is to improve the quality of drug and alcohol addiction treatment in the United States.

It's a two year grant program which covers the cost of helping the different centers develop the capacity to sustain the office based medication treatment program on their own.

Source: MetroNews

Last updated: 03/08

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