The Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness (SALOME) is a clinical

study that tests alternative treatments for people with chronic heroin addiction who are currently not benefiting sufficiently from available treatments such as oral methadone. SALOME compares two similar medications – diacetylmorphine, the active ingredient of heroin, and hydromorphone (HDM), a legal, licensed pain medication. Studies in Canada and Europe have demonstrated that treatment with diacetylmorphine is more effective than oral methadone for some of the most vulnerable heroin users. If HDM is shown to be as good as diacetylmorphine it could become an alternative for those currently not benefitting from methadone and other treatments, and be integrated in the treatment continuum available through licensed doctors. 1 ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS Stringent controls were placed on the screening of participants to ensure that onl