Opioid addiction is like other chronic relapsing conditions

Dr Moosajee Bhamjee (IMT, July 9, page 11, ‘Swapping one illegal drug for another legal one’; see www.imt.ie/opinion/letters/2010/07/swapping-one-illegal-drug-for-another-legal-one.html) is grossly inaccurate in stating that “methadone was to be prescribed for only a minority (10 per cent) of heroin addicts who had failed to abstain”. The treatment of choice for heroin addiction is opioid-agonist treatment and is supported by numerous studies stretching over 40 years. It needs to be stressed that the outcomes for detoxification from opioids are poor. As Dr Cathal Ó Súilliobháin highlighted in his original response (IMT, June 11, ‘Resources must target proven treatments’; see www.imt.ie/opinion/letters/2010/06/resources-must-target-proven-treatments.html), there is the added risk of fatal overdose due to loss of opioid tolerance