PERSISTENT REJECTION OF EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE WHEN IT COMES TO MAINTENANCE TREATMENT OF ADDICTION:

in a "Comment" in this week's Lancet (Aug. 18, vol. 370, pp 550-553) that focuses primarily on a possible role for codeine in treatment of opiate dependence, the authors note that notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence that one is dealing with a chronic medical condition, "...politically the popular treatments are those that aim to achieve abstinence within weeks to months."

By contrast, the statement goes on to note that, reflecting evidence-based medicine, "The aim of [maintenance] treatment is long-term retention in the programme and normalisation of psychosocial functioning, rather than abstinence from all opioids."

So . . . the problem of the past 40 years remains: how to overcome the political dogma that continues to shape the policies and practices governing treatment of addiction?