As Tara Tabachnick reports in The Washington Post, “from 2003 to 2013, prescription opioid deaths rose 92 percent and heroin deaths rose 300 percent nationwide. Heroin deaths rose 60 percent in the District from 2011 to 2014, 88 percent in Maryland from 2011 to 2013 and 113 percent in Virginia from 2011 to 2013,” addiction continue to run rampant, destroying the lives of the addicted and their families.
As inroads have been made to reframe our understanding of addiction as a health issue rather than a moral lapse to be dealt with by incarceration without treatment, new non-addictive treatment drugs have been developed to help addicts overcome the physical cravings that can undermine an addict’s recovery.
One of those is Vivatrol.
Vivatrol—a new generation of Naltrexone— is an injectable, long-acting medication that cancels the euphoric reward of taking opioids (heroin or prescription).
The downside is its cost. Currently as much $1000 per shot—less, with Medicaid and Medicare—it is hoped that the costs can be lowered when offered on a wider scale.
But like recovery from any addiction, a spectrum of therapies are required to address any concurrent mental health issues. Vivatrol may not be a magic bullet, but it offers hope to thousands who struggle with maintaining recovery
Two articles about Vivatrol may be found here, and here
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