Heroin Use, HIV-Risk, and Criminal Behavior in Baltimore: Findings from Clinical Research

Abstract

This article reviews research conducted in Baltimore over the past 15 years, examining the following: (1) What factors differentiate heroin-addicted individuals who enter methadone treatment from those who do not? (2) How difficult is gaining access to methadone treatment? (3) What are effective ways to overcome barriers to treatment entry? (4) Why do so many methadone patients drop out of treatment prematurely? (5) What are the added benefits of counseling when coupled with methadone or buprenorphine treatment? (6) Does increasing access to treatment have an impact on overdose deaths? Specific recommendations are made for policymakers concerned with addressing heroin addiction.

KEYWORDS:

• Methadone maintenance
• interim methadone
• treatment retention
• buprenorphine treatment
• counseling

FUNDING

This work was supported through National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grants 2R01DA15842 and 2U01DA13636. NIDA or the National Institutes of Health hand no role in the preparation, review, or approval of this manuscript.