A first-ever large-scale national study has been launched to evaluate the effectiveness of buprenorphine/naloxone, marketed as Suboxone, in the treatment of addiction to prescription opioid painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin. Suboxone is used to help opiate addicts through withdrawal and drug detox programs.

The research is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIDA's National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) is conducting the multi-site study, known as the Prescription Opiate Addiction Treatment Study (POATS).

The study is being carried out at NYU Medical Center in partnership with Bellevue Hospital Center, as well as at 10 other sites across the country. Several study sites are in rural areas experiencing high rates of abuse of prescription pain medications, particularly OxyContin. Treatment with Suboxone must be done by specially trained physicians. Nearly 650 addicts will be enrolled, including both chronic pain patients who have become addicted to medications, and those who abuse painkillers for non-medical reasons. Researchers will try to evaluate Suboxone’s effectiveness in various drug rehab and drug detox settings.

The 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that the incidence of new nonmedical users of pain relievers is now at 2.2 million Americans aged 12 and older, surpassing the number of new marijuana abusers (2.1 million). In 2005, more than six million Americans reported current (in the past month) nonmedical use of prescription drugs—more than the number abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and inhalants, combined. That was two years ago, and the problem has only become worse.

We’re always happy to see national attention being paid to America’s runaway romance with addictive prescription drugs. It’s an epidemic, and the country’s drug detox and drug rehab centers are overflowing with people trying to get off addictive prescription opiates that are too easily available. NIDA’s study project is good news. However, let’s keep in mind that it’s not some new breakthrough – Suboxone is already used in many successful drug detox programs across the country.