More than 50% of patients treated with methadone or buprenorphine drop out of treatment, mostly with lower than recommended doses, a recent study conducted in Canada has found. For the study, records of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) who were treated with methadone (73.9% of patients), buprenorphine (24.7%) or slow-release morphine (1.4%) (legal in…

Continue Reading Dropouts due to Inadequate Dosing: Greater than 50% of Patients

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 12 said it will require a warning about possible dental problems caused by dissolving buprenorphine in the mouth – the main route of administration for the opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment medication. The dental problems include tooth decay, cavities, oral infections, and tooth loss. This does not…

Continue Reading FDA: Tell your Dentist if you take Buprenorphine

Richard Saitz, M.D., M.P.H., internationally and locally respected in alcohol and drug addiction research, died January 15 from pancreatic cancer. Dr. Saitz, who changed the treatment of alcohol withdrawal and whose commitment to his patients was well known, was also a beloved mentor to up and coming addiction scholars and clinicians. Dr. Saitz was professor…

Continue Reading Obituary: Richard Saitz, M.D., M.P.H.

“No Home to Take Methadone to,” a story recently published on this website, investigated the effects of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions on opioid treatment programs (OTPs). That story shows it’s essential to listen to what patients, not just providers, say about patients’ treatment experiences. It also shows that most participants found their experience with addiction service…

Continue Reading Two Studies Look at Effects of Relaxed COVID-19 Restrictions on OTPs—and Come Up With Different Answers

The end of last year marked the first-ever announcement of federal grants for harm reduction — $30 million to be spent on programs which distribute naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and syringe services. No illegal services – such as “overdose prevention sites,” “safe injection sites,” or any similar sites which allow people to bring in illegal…

Continue Reading Federal Government Announces First-Ever Harm Reduction Grants

The end of 2021 saw several aggressive new harm reduction initiatives coming out of the federal Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One was a model law for syringe services programs (SSPs). Although these are legal under federal law, SSPs can’t operate unless state…

Continue Reading Harm Reduction Initiatives Take Hold in White House

Paul Edward Bowman, an advocate of recovery who worked closely with the methadone and buprenorphine community, died late last year. The 58-year-old was a peer recovery coach for Massachusetts General Hospital, South End Community Health Center, and at the time of his death, Boston Medical Center. He died on November 28. Bowman received the Richard…

Continue Reading Obituary: Bowman, Recovery Advocate

The post occupied by Belinda Greenfield, Ph.D., as New York’s Opioid Treatment Authority (SOTA) for 15 years, will be taken by Lesley Puryear, LMSW, in January 2022. Ms. Puryear, at the state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) for 7 years, was recently promoted to Director of the Bureau of Adult Treatment Services. Prior…

Continue Reading Longtime NY SOTA Retiring, Puryear Moving to Position

With much support from many – but not the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), because of the omission of opioid treatment program (OTP) physicians, a bill which would allow pharmacies to distribute methadone and add the number of take-home doses is on the verge of being introduced by Rep Donald Norcross…

Continue Reading Norcross to Introduce Bill to ‘Modernize’ Methadone Treatment