Abstract
The authors examined cocaine use in 110 opioid-dependent cocaine users during a 24-week, randomized, double-blind clinical trial in which patients were maintained daily on one of the following: 2 mg of buprenorphine, 6mg of buprenorphine, 35 mg of methadone, or 65 mg of methadone. During the 24-week trial, cocaine use, as measured by urinalysis and self-reports, did not differ across medication groups, although opiate use decreased significantly in the methadone groups relative to the buprenorphine groups. These results suggest that buprenorphine, at doses up to 6 mg/day, is not more effective than methadone in decreasing cocaine use in opioid-dependent cocaine users.