Slide 2:
MOSCOW — Afghan opium kills more people every year than any other drug on the planet, claiming up to 100,000 lives annually, according to a United Nations report Although U.S. officials have pointed to the last two years of lower production in Afghanistan , the country still produces 90 percent of the world’s opium, which the report says now threatens to sow havoc in much of Central Asia .
Slide 3:
Drug addiction is a complex but treatable brain disease. It is characterized by compulsive drug craving, seeking, and use that persist even in the face of severe adverse consequences. For many people, drug addiction becomes chronic, with relapses possible even after long periods of abstinence. In fact, relapse to drug abuse occurs at rates similar to those for other well-characterized, chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.
Slide 4:
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as “black tar heroin.” Although purer heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is “cut” with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine.
Slide 5:
Most heroin users are not receiving treatment. Most recent data indicate that there are approximately 112,000 patients in narcotic maintenance treatment. Barriers exist to both access to narcotic maintenance treatment and effective treatment, despite the science on the neurobiology of heroin addiction and the evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of treatment in reducing drug use and crime and preventing the spread of HIV and HCV. An important reason for some of these barriers is that narcotic maintenance treatment remains controversial. The science has not yet overcome the stigma of addiction and public perception about narcotic maintenance treatment.
Slide 6:
This heroin addiction treatment permits the patient to be free from the uncontrolled, compulsive, and disruptive behavior associated with heroin addiction. While many methadone maintenance clinics (long term methadone use) are available, we believe the most effective use of methadone in heroin addiction treatment is found in utilizing the drug to assist in the gradual withdrawal from heroin addiction.