In November 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened a Consensus Panel on Effective Medical Treatment of Heroin Addiction. The panel of national experts concluded:
"• Vigorous and effective leadership is needed within the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) (and related Federal and State agencies) to inform the public that dependence is a medical disorder that can be effectively treated with significant benefits for the patient and society.
"• Society must make a commitment to offering effective treatment for opiate dependence to all who need it.
"• The panel calls attention to the need for opiate-dependent persons under legal supervision to have access to MMT [methadone maintenance treatment]. The ONDCP and the U.S. Department of Justice should implement this recommendation.
"• The panel recommends improved training of physicians and other health care professionals in diagnosis and treatment of opiate dependence. For example, we encourage the National Institute on Drug Abuse and other agencies to provide funds to improve training for diagnosis and treatment of opiate dependence in medical schools.
"• The panel recommends that unnecessary regulation of MMT and all long-acting agonist treatment programs be reduced.
"• Funding for MMT should be increased.
"• We advocate MMT as a benefit in public and private insurance programs, with parity of coverage for all medical and mental disorders.
"• We recommend targeting opiate-dependent pregnant women for MMT.
"• MMT must be culturally sensitive to enhance a favorable outcome for participating African American and Hispanic persons.
"• Patients, underrepresented minorities, and consumers should be included in bodies charged with policy development guiding opiate dependence treatment.
"• We recommend expanding the availability of opiate agonist treatment in those States and programs where this treatment option is currently unavailable."

"Science-based methadone maintenance treatment [MMT] helps those addicted to opiates sustain their recovery. The result is less crime, fewer emergency room admissions, more citizens working, and less suffering for families and the community. More individuals contribute in taxes instead of costing in health or imprisonment."

"In order to overcome the issues of poor t­reatment adherence with oral naltrexone, a number of sustained-release implants have been developed internationally for use in alcohol and opioid dependence. A non-randomized retrospective review examined two types of sustained-release naltrexone implants, oral naltrexone, and historical controls revealed a significant difference between immediate and sustained-­release injectable naltrexone in individuals opioid-free 12 months after initiating treatment. Rates combined for the two types of naltrexone implants were 82% opioid free at 12 months compared to 58% opioid free for the oral naltrexone group, and 52% for the historical control group.³²"

"Pain was very prevalent in representative samples of 2 distinct populations with chemical dependency, and chronic severe pain was experienced by a substantial minority of both groups. Methadone patients differed from patients recently admitted to a residential treatment center in numerous ways and had a significantly higher prevalence of chronic pain (37% vs. 24%). Although comparisons with other studies of pain epidemiology are difficult to make because of methodological differences, the prevalence of chronic pain in these samples is in the upper range reported in surveys of the general population. The prevalence of chronic pain in these chemically dependent patients also compares with that in surveys of cancer patients undergoing active therapy, approximately a third of whom have pain severe enough to warrant opioid therapy."