Orange County, CA (1888PressRelease)
August 05, 2009 - The first opioid medication, Suboxone, used in the treatment of opiate addiction, was approved under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has time and time again proven to be the key to preventing withdrawal symptoms from heroin and other opiates.
Suboxone, which contains both buprenorphine and the opiate antagonist Naloxone, is intended to be the formulation used in maintenance treatment of opiate addiction. The purpose of adding Naloxone was to assure against the use of intravenous abuse of buprenorphine. Because of the potential for abuse, the FDA and its parent the Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) place buprenorphine as a Schedule III drug. Suboxone is supplied in either two milligram or eight milligram, is placed under the tongue and must be allowed to dissolve.
“We were happy when Suboxone came on the market and began using it in the drug detox from the time it was approved,” says Phil Allen, CEO of the Pat Moore Foundation in Costa Mesa, California. “Overall it’s been used to reduce opioid use and help our patients stay in treatment by suppressing their withdrawal symptoms and decreasing their cravings too. We are aware of the potential for abuse, so we keep a strict eye on the limits.”
Provisions of the Drug Addiction Treatment Act includes the limits on the number of patients individual physicians are allowed to treat and the registration for the use of this drug ultimately provides additional safeguards in an office-based setting.
The Pat Moore Foundation can be reached twenty-four hours-a-day at 1 (888) 426-6086, or they can be contacted at http://www.patmoorefoundation.com.
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