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Addiction drug hits streets
Suboxone
Recent law enforcement statistics tell us that of people recently busted for drug trafficking, a substantial number of arrests involved prescription drugs rather than street drugs.That in itself is not surprising, but one particular prescription drug stood out, Suboxone.It is used by doctors to treat addiction to opiate drugs.“Suboxone is a Schedule III drug. It is an addictive narcotic and now we know it is available on the street, despite controls and cautions of the FDA,” said Bobby Wiggins, senior Drug Prevention Specialist at Narconon International. The story is similar to what happened with Methadone once it was released as the miracle solution for heroin addiction decades ago.Methadone clinics sprang up everywhere.In some states fleets of mobile Methadone clinics began criss-crossing cities and counties to save addicts from heroin addiction.At first Methadone was a hero.Its claim to fame was that people addicted to illegal heroin no longer would have to engage in criminal activity, because they could get a longer lasting, legal fix at their local Methadone clinic.Today, even though still dispensed from clinics, Methadone is considered a dangerous street drug, responsible for more overdoses than traditional street drugs, and capable of causing more brutal withdrawal symptoms than the drugs it was designed to supplant.Suboxone has become a medication of choice because doctors need a solution for record numbers of patients hooked on painkillers they or other doctors administered.Suboxone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002 as an addiction-treatment medication.It's a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone.