Pubdate: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Copyright: 2007 The Baltimore Sun Company Contact: http://www.baltimoresun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37 Note: Titled by Newshawk Author: Diana Morris, director of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore BUPRENORPHINE PROMISING THERAPY FOR HEROIN ADDICTION The Sun's series on the abuses of buprenorphine distorts the true picture of an extremely promising therapy for heroin addiction. Given the high social costs of addiction, the United States has embraced buprenorphine as an effective treatment, after carefully examining the experience of France and other countries. And a number of extraordinary controls guide the use of buprenorphine in this country. As a result, buprenorphine is extremely safe when used properly. And thousands of people use buprenorphine appropriately and therefore safely. It has helped them turn around their lives. In the process, it has saved the public all the negative health consequences and costs of heroin addiction, from HIV transmission and emergency room visits to property crime and incarceration. The Sun should also cover these successful stories. Diana Morris Baltimore The writer is director of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, which funds buprenorphine treatment and other drug treatment programs. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom