NEWSWATCH: “Russian answer to opioid epidemic: ‘Cold turkey’; Russia has an opioid abuse problem as big as America’s, but a very different way of dealing with it. No methadone replacement therapy in Moscow – just a couple of aspirin and a short, sharp withdrawal shock.” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

November 29, 2017 JRL Russia List Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Drugs, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, JRL NewsBlog

Blurred Image of Young Woman Holding Up Pill Between Her Thumb and Index Finger, adapted from image at drugabuse.gov

“Russia has an opioid addiction crisis about as grave as America’s. … the two countries’ approaches to the problem could hardly be more different. … most US and European clinics offer patients methadone as replacement therapy [yet] Russian doctors disdain such ‘soft’ treatment. … their [cold turkey] methods … have a lower success rate than the 50 percent achieved in the United States. … as low as 10 percent. But they do not consider people who rely on methadone to be free from their addiction. * * * On top of that … the Russian approach to drug addiction … ban[s] … Western-style programs that provide clean needles … to block the spread of HIV/AIDS. HIV infection rates have risen by about 10 percent annually …. Half of new victims are infected by shared needles. …”