medication-assisted treatment

Registered nurse Jamie Simmons speaks with a patient during an appointment at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center in Massachusetts. The patient, whose first name is Kim, says buprenorphine has helped her stay off heroin and avoid an overdose for nearly 20 years.

Health & Safety

A roadblock to life-saving addiction treatment is gone. Now what?

4:37pm March 09, 2023

by Martha Bebinger

Federal restrictions seemed to explain why many doctors weren't prescribing medication for opioid addiction. But some caution that removing those rules isn't enough to overcome hesitancy and stigma.

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Researchers have found that a combination of two medications is effective at treating meth addiction.

A Medical Treatment For Meth Addiction Proves Effective In New Trial

7:45pm January 14, 2021

by Brian Mann

The evidence is strong that some people struggling with meth addiction benefit from the drug regime.

To Stop Deadly Overdoses, 'The Opioid Fix' Urges Better Use Of Tools We Already Have

2:05pm July 21, 2020

by Carrie Feibel

Early data suggest the pandemic may be driving up overdoses. Author Barbara Andraka-Christou says the solution to the addiction crisis is right before us: Improve access to life-saving medication.

Sarah Ziegenhorn and Andy Beeler shared a selfie while hiking in Texas' Big Bend National Park in December 2018. Beeler died of an opioid overdose last March. Ziegenhorn traces his death to the many obstacles to medical care that Beeler experienced while

Health & Safety

They Fell In Love Helping Drug Users. But Fear Kept Him From Helping Himself

3:41pm February 24, 2020

by Will Stone

Sarah and Andy were in love and also advocates, determined to keep drug users from dying. But when his own addiction reemerged, Andy's fear of returning to prison kept him from the best treatment.

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Melinda McDowell sought treatment for her addiction to meth. She started taking the medication naltrexone and has been sober for more than a year now.

Health & Safety

A Medication To Treat Meth Addiction? Some Take A New Look At Naltrexone

10:34am November 07, 2019

by Andrea Dukakis

Methamphetamine addiction is growing fast, but there's no approved medication to treat it. Now, some clinicians and researchers are experimenting with a drug used for opioid and alcohol addiction.

Health & Safety

Setting Precedent, A Federal Court Rules Jail Must Give Inmate Addiction Treatment

10:32am May 04, 2019

by Willis R. Arnold

Many jails and prisons refuse to offer medication for opioid addiction, even to inmates who had been in treatment before incarceration. A recent ruling in a federal court says that's not acceptable.

In Massachusetts last July, several Franklin County Jail inmates were watched by a nurse and a corrections officer after receiving their daily doses of buprenorphine, a drug that helps control opioid cravings. By some estimates, at least half to two-third

County Jails Struggle With A New Role As America's Prime Centers For Opioid Detox

3:04pm April 24, 2019

by Eric Westervelt

The National Sheriffs' Association has published a detailed guide to jail-based medication-assisted treatment. States hardest hit by opioids are moving fastest to get inmates the help needed to quit.

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The Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center in Plymouth houses men for court-mandated addiction treatment.

Prison For Forced Addiction Treatment? A Parent's 'Last Resort' Has Consequences

7:13am April 20, 2019

by Deborah Becker

Thousands of Massachusetts residents have been committed to treatment for addiction against their will. Some families say locking up addicts in prison isn't treatment. Others say it saves lives.

Located in Northern Wisconsin along the shores of Lake Superior, Ashland, Wis. has had enough of substance abuse issue. NorthLakes Community Clinic brought in Dr. Mark Lim to start a team providing substance abuse and mental health services.

Health & Safety

For One Rural Community, Fighting Addiction Started With Recruiting The Right Doctor

11:47am December 09, 2018

by Bram Sable-Smith

While opioids get all the attention, rural communities struggle with substances like meth and alcohol too. One clinic is building up capacity to treat all of them, using both medicine and counseling.

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In several European countries and Canada, patients with longterm opioid addiction are prescribed pharmaceutical grade heroin which they inject in clinics like the Patrida Medical Clinic in Berlin. Some addiction specialists want to pilot similar programs

Health & Safety

Is America Ready For Prescription Heroin?

9:25am December 06, 2018

by Elana Gordon

In some countries, doctors prescribe medical-grade heroin to patients with long-term addiction. Could it ever happen the U.S.? A new report from RAND Corporation outlines the pros and cons.