Interim methadone treatment compared to standard methadone treatment: 4-month findings

Interim methadone (IM; with emergency counseling only) is an effective but highly restricted alternative to methadone treatment program (MTP) waiting lists. However, it is not known whether IM disadvantages patients as compared with standard methadone treatment (SM). In this clinical trial, conducted in two MTPs, 230 newly admitted patients were randomly assigned to IM, SM, and "restored" methadone treatment (SM with a counselor with a reduced caseload). Data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations and generalized linear modeling. There were no significant differences among conditions in days in treatment or of heroin or cocaine use and heroin- or cocaine-positive urine drug tests. The IM as compared to the SM group had significantly fewer self-reported days of criminal activity and lower amounts of money spent on drugs and illegal income. These findings suggest that when SM is unavailable, IM should be more widely used and less restricted.