Groundbreaking Research Validates Effectiveness of Drug Treatment Programmes
In a significant development for addiction recovery, researchers have reported that two-thirds of heroin and crack addicts either cease or reduce their use of street drugs following six months of treatment. This finding, derived from the largest-ever study of such treatment programmes, is published in The Lancet and provides a much-needed boost to drug agency workers who have long feared their efforts might be having minimal impact.
Study Details and Key Findings
The research involved 14,656 patients from 1,000 community treatment agencies across England, all of whom received at least six months of treatment in 2008. Among heroin users, 42 per cent reported having stopped using the drug, while 29 per cent reduced their use in the month prior to assessment. For crack users, the success rates were even higher, with 57 per cent stopping and 8 per cent reducing their use. However, success rates were lower among addicts who used both drugs, potentially due to them being the most hardened addicts or because crack may diminish the effectiveness of methadone treatment.
John Marsden of the Institute of Psychiatry, who led the study, emphasised the profound impact of these substances, stating, "Heroin and crack cocaine corrupt the way we think, remember, make decisions, plan and behave. These people have had their lives messed up big time. This is the largest study of the most commonly available drug treatments in England and unequivocally concludes that present drug treatment for heroin and crack addiction is very effective in the first six months."
Treatment Methods and Costs
In the UK, there are an estimated 330,000 problem users of heroin and crack cocaine, with 180,000 receiving treatment annually. Heroin addicts are typically prescribed methadone, a non-euphoric opiate that alleviates cravings and helps stabilise their lives. Some also undergo cognitive behaviour therapy or counselling. For crack cocaine addicts, there is no pharmacological substitute, so treatment relies solely on psychosocial interventions.
Colin Bradley of the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, which funded the study, highlighted the expansion of treatment services over the past eight years, noting that waiting times have plummeted from over a year to just a few weeks. "We have doubled the numbers in treatment, there is a greater choice of services and psychosocial treatments are much more widespread," he said. "But it's a first step – people do not respond in a uniform way."
Treatment with methadone costs between £3,000 and £5,000 per year per addict, with the average programme lasting 10 months, resulting in a total national cost of approximately £800 million annually.
Caveats and Long-Term Considerations
Despite the positive outcomes, the study comes with caveats regarding the robustness of the results, due to the absence of a control group, and the duration of the benefits. Drug addiction often follows a relapsing and remitting course, with many addicts taking years to fully overcome their habits.
In a commentary on the findings in The Lancet, Thomas McLellan, deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, cautioned that serious addiction should be viewed as a chronic condition, similar to diabetes or high blood pressure. He warned that short-term interventions may not yield long-lasting effects, suggesting that "it may be more reasonable to expect enduring improvements through sustained outpatient clinical management with drugs and behaviour therapies."
Personal Story: A Journey to Recovery
Stuart Hagues, a 32-year-old single father from Southampton, exemplifies the challenges and triumphs of addiction recovery. A drug user since age 12, he has been on methadone and off heroin for nearly a year. Reflecting on his journey, he shared, "I came from a good background: my parents work, my brother works. It was just a case of the wrong time, the wrong place and the wrong estate where I came from in Hull. I was the youngest in a group of eight or nine and was led astray."
His addiction escalated into crime, including burglary and drug-dealing, leading to multiple arrests and 17 detox attempts. "Getting off drugs has been hard. It is hard to get a job, as I left school with no qualifications. The physical withdrawal may last only four or five days, but mentally it is a battle for the rest of your life," he explained. Hagues credits methadone with saving lives but stresses that recovery requires personal commitment, noting, "Methadone has probably saved a lot of lives but methadone won't cure anybody unless they want to sort themselves out. This time, they told me, 'Sort your life out or you will lose your son'. At some point, it was die or stop drugs."
This study offers a beacon of hope, demonstrating that with proper support and treatment, significant progress is possible in the fight against drug addiction.
