NCJ Number
218322
Journal
Journal of Maintenance in the Addictions Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: 2004 Pages: 71-76
Date Published
2004
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the historical antagonism between drug treatment courts (DTCs) and opioid treatment professionals who support medically assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone, and it identifies recent changes that make a new partnership possible.
Abstract
Although there is still resistance among DTC judges regarding the use of methadone in treating opiate addiction, judges are trained to look at evidence and make decisions according to the weight of the evidence. A presentation of empirical evidence that supports the use of methadone in treating opiate addiction should be well received by DTC judges. The findings of studies that show a reduction in arrests and other misconduct by MAT patients supports the argument that methadone use with opiate addicts increases public safety. Problems that do exist, such as clinic location, relapse rates, unauthorized use of methadone, and others should be acknowledged and addressed. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), which was founded in 1994, is an outreach and national membership organization composed of DTC professionals. Through conferences, training institutes, and publications, NADCP and its sister organization, National Drug Court Institute, are the primary source of information in the field. It has only been in the last few years that any training was done on the use of methadone in the treatment of opiate addiction. In 2003, opioid replacement therapy was, for the first time, the subject of a plenary session in the Adult Drug Court training. NADCP's new initiative is to travel across the United States and educate community leaders and drug court professionals about methadone and its effectiveness. 13 notes