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Question 6: When was methadone maintenance introduced to treat heroin addiction?

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Answer: For 40 years, methadone maintenance treatment has been used successfully to treat heroin addiction in the United States. From the first pilot project in 1964, when Drs. Vincent P. Dole and Marie E. Nyswander established that methadone maintenance treatment was an effective medical intervention for heroin addiction, rigorous scientific research has documented the safety and effectiveness of methadone maintenance to treat heroin addiction.

References

Courtwright D. A century of American narcotic policy. In: Institute of Medicine. Treating Drug Problems: Volume 2. Washington, DC: IOM, 1992, pp. 1-62. Available online at: books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309043964. [Accessed March 23, 2006.]

Hentoff N. The treatment of patients – I. The New Yorker 1965;June 26:32-77.

Joseph H, Stancliff S, Langrod J. Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT): a review of historical and clinical issues. The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine 2000;67(5 & 6):347-64. Available online at:http://mountsinai.site-ym.com/?page=Journal_of_Medicine/67/6756.shtml. [Accessed March 23, 2006.

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