Despite the elevation of the opioid crisis in the U.S. to the level of a nationwide public health emergency in 2017, the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths has continued to rise. The impact of the opioid epidemic extends well beyond the tragedy of fatal overdose. Nonfatal overdose can result in brain injury and permanent disability, and…

New developments in the treatment of mothers and infants affected by opioid addiction point to the promising effects of interventions that adopt a developmental perspective, occur concurrently with addiction treatment, and target the parent-infant relationship as early as possible. In this article, the authors provide general guidelines for…

Objective: Relapse is a major problem in drug addiction treatment. Both drug craving and drug-related cognitions (e.g., attentional bias and implicit attitudes to drugs) may contribute to relapse. Using ecological momentary assessments, we examined whether craving and cognitions assessed during drug detoxification treatment were associated with…

The present report is an intent-to-treat analysis involving secondary data drawn from the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated methadone in the United States. This study examined predictors of treatment entry and completion in prison. A sample of 211 adult male prerelease inmates with preincarceration heroin dependence were randomly…

Introduction: Process research in psychotherapy is important to understand how treatment works. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidelines suggest that in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opioid dependence, drug key-working should be based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) principles. This article reports the findings…

Research suggests that buprenorphine treatment may be a promising intervention for incarcerated individuals with heroin addiction histories. However, its implementation varies from corrections-based methadone because of unique challenges regarding dosing, administration, and regulation. Describing the first randomized clinical trial of…

OxyContin, a prescription pain reliever, is a controlled-release form of oxycodone hydrochloride. The medication is supplied in 10-mg, 20-mg, 40-mg, and 80-mg tablets and provides delivery of oxycodone over a 12-hour period. It is indicated for the management of moderate to severe pain. Although all prescription narcotics have the potential for…

Patients in an outpatient narcotic antagonist treatment program were followed through their course of treatment. Those who remained longer were found to enter treatment with more stable employment records and less recent opiate use. They also appeared more successful at termination, with better vocational stability, less extraneous drug use, and…

This paper describes a research project sponsored and funded by the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Affairs (INL) on substance abuse and treatment in ten countries. The purpose of the study was to identify promising practices in drug treatment in Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. The steps taken to complete this…

The development of the drug overuse and addiction treatment models in the United States has an enormous impact on the adoption of similar activities throughout the world. The increased globalization of substance abuse attracted treatment practitioners from Europe to the U.S. to examine the implementation of therapeutic community and other models…

In a study to evaluate the drug treatment and aftercare efforts sponsored by the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau, residential Therapeutic Community (TC) treatment programs in three Latin American countries--Brazil, Peru and Argentina--were examined to identify promising practices and to assess lessons…