Dr. Michael Hayes, an addiction treatment specialist, has been on the front lines of Baltimore?s medical battle with heroin addiction since the ?70s and serves as the head of the Center for Addiction Medicine in Baltimore. Hayes took time to speak with The Examiner about the recent controversy involving buprenorphine, a relatively new treatment for heroin addiction that rids addicts of cravings but that critics say is being misused.
How do you respond to recent criticism of buprenorphine as a safe treatment for heroin addiction?
The controversy has been blown way out of proportion. It?s a safe drug; it?s an effective drug. There are much worse problems with people abusing oxycodone than buprenorphine.
Why should anyone care about drug treatment, and what kind of treatments are used? How does buprenorphine compare with methadone?
The worst methadone patient is better than the best street addict. Although we have less data, I think we?ll see the same for buprenorphine. Every heroin addict on buprenorphine is less likely to commit crimes, contract HIV or end up in jail. That?s why it is so important.
How have your patients reacted to treatment with buprenorphine?
They feel almost normal on buprenorphine, which is not always the case with methadone.
What?s the difference between methadone and buprenorphine?
One of the main differences is that methadone can kill people a lot easier than buprenorphine. But there isn?t a program ? whether it?s methadone or buprenorphine ? that doesn?t have some positive effect on addiction, and by extension a positive effect on the city. The world wants a quick fix, but there is no quick fix.
