Client variables associated with selection and outcome in a methadone tapering program

Based on archival information on 36 methadone maintenance patients, indicators of success in a methadone tapering program were investigated. None of the variables selected for study were found to differentiate successful from unsuccessful taperers. However, patients who were offered the opportunity to participate in the tapering program had significantly fewer years of heroin use prior to their admittance to a methadone maintenance program than patients in the general methadone maintenance population. In addition, the racial composition of patients attempting to taper included significantly fewer Black patients than the racial composition of the general methadone maintenance population. Possible explanations are offered.