cannabisnews.com: House OK's New Addiction Drug 





House OK's New Addiction Drug 
Posted by FoM on July 19, 2000 at 18:23:57 PT
By Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Waco Tribune-Herald 
Heroin addicts would have a new option for treatment--a drug that can be prescribed by doctors instead of costly inpatient methadone treatments--under a measure approved Wednesday by the House. The bill, passed on a 412-1 vote, would allow doctors to prescribe to addicts the drug buprenorphine, a controlled substance that helps suppress the craving for heroin. Currently, most inpatient heroin treatments use the government-regulated drug methadone to control cravings. 
Allowing doctors to prescribe buprenorphine, which has a very limited euphorigenic effects but still induces withdrawal, will expand treatment options, supporters said. In a letter last year, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said buprenorphine and a buprenorphine/naloxone combination ``are expected to reach new groups of opiate addicts--for example, those who do not have access to methadone programs, those who are reluctant to enter methadone treatment programs and those who are unsuited for them.'' Buprenorphine is not expected to replace methadone, but to be used to expand treatment options. ``This is a bill that helps those who can least help themselves,'' Rep. Tom Bliley, R-Va, said. To prescribe buprenorphine, doctors would have to be licensed to dispense controlled substances and trained to treat addicts. They also would be limited in the number of patients they could treat at one time and be able to refer patients to counseling and other services. Under the House bill, doctors would be allowed to prescribe buprenorphine after writing to the HHS secretary that they meet the conditions of the bill. They would then be able to start treatments until told to stop by the federal government. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve the use of buprenorphine for addiction relief, spokesman Brad Stone said. Several universities have successfully used the drug in tests. The ``no'' vote came from Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C. The House also decided on Tuesday to allow as many as 300 aliens with life-threatening diseases or injuries to stay in the United States indefinitely while in treatment. Currently, temporary medical visas last only 120 days. At the end of the visa, aliens can be deported regardless of what stage the treatment is in. Under the bill, aliens can stay until the treatment can be completed if they can prove they need the care and can pay for it. Only 300 waivers can be issued per year and the pilot program must be renewed after three years. On the Net: National Institute on Drug Abuse update on buprenorphine: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Bupupdate.html Washington, D.C. (AP)Posted: July 19, 2000Copyright 2000, The Associated Press. Related Articles:Methadone: No Heroin Highs but No Cravings, Eitherhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5433.shtmlFor Heroin Addicts, A Bizarre Remedyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3808.shtml
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on July 20, 2000 at 05:54:35 PT:
Not only wrong, but stupid
The one drug proven to reduce craving for heroin and breaking the addiction cycle is ibogaine...which the FDA doesn't want to hear about. Why? Because it would shorten, not draw out, the detoxification process. Two or three doses, under clinical supervision, and the addict is pretty much clear of heroin. How many doses will this new drug require? And more importantly, how much will it cost per dose? Ever since it was first acquainted with ibogaine in the early 90's the FDA has been backpedalling ever since, performing wonders of evasive maneuvering that would make our fighter pilots green with envy. They've done anything and everything to put distance between themselves and any possible research. Why?Because it pays better to offer ineffectual treatments with low possibility of success, guaranteeing recidivism, that it does to actually *cure* and addict.Once again, your tax dollars at work. While hundreds of thousands who could be helped, *and who want help*, remain enslaved to the 'powders white and deadly'.So, I ask you, who's *really* 'fighting drug abuse'? 
The Ibogaine Dossier
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on July 19, 2000 at 20:00:42 PT
right
and they aint even licensed to do that... bad!bad!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 19, 2000 at 18:43:39 PT
Interesting
The congress acting like doctors, as if they're prescribing it.
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: