Cocaine-Related Disorders, Heroin Dependence, HIV
Conditions
Keywords
Cocaine, Heroin, HIV, Contingency Management, Incentives, Criminal Justice, Methadone, Buprenorphine, Employment, Job Training, Wage Subsidies
Brief summary
More Americans are arrested for drug offenses than for any other crime. In 2009, over 294,000 arrests were made for possession of cocaine or heroin. Incarceration does not address the root problems and is frequently followed by relapse and re-arrest after release. In the case of opiate-dependent adults arrested for possession of heroin, one potentially effective alternative is to divert offenders to methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) as an alternative to adjudication of their case. MMT is an effective treatment for heroin dependence, and appears very effective for criminal offenders. However, cocaine use is common in MMT patients, including those with recent criminal justice involvement, and MMT alone is ineffective in addressing cocaine use. Continued cocaine use carries a substantial health burden and necessarily entails continued criminal activity. Thus, treatment for diverted opiate-dependent offenders should be designed to address cocaine use as well as opiate use. A Stage 1 Behavior Therapy Development project is planned over 2 years to adapt, manualize and pilot test the Therapeutic Workplace intervention for adults charged with heroin possession and offered diversion to methadone maintenance treatment as an alternative to adjudication of their case. The Therapeutic Workplace is a novel, employment-based contingency management intervention that has been very effective in promoting cocaine abstinence in adults who use cocaine persistently during methadone treatment. In the Therapeutic Workplace, participants are hired in a model workplace and required to provide drug-free urine samples to work and to earn maximum pay. Once we develop and manualize the adapted version of the Therapeutic Workplace for adults arrested for heroin possession, a pilot test will be conducted. Individuals identified by the State Attorney's office as candidates for diversion will be assessed for study eligibility. Given the high rates of injection drug use and injection-related transmission of HIV in Baltimore, this study will be restricted to injection drug users to evaluate the potential utility of this intervention in reducing HIV risk. Eligible individuals will be offered methadone maintenance in lieu of prosecution and will be required to remain in methadone treatment for 90 days. All participants will receive standard MMT, independent of whether they decide to participate in the pilot study. After beginning MMT, participants will be invited to enroll in the pilot study and randomly assigned to two study groups. Participants assigned to the Usual Care Diversion group will receive the standard MMT. Participants assigned to the Therapeutic Workplace Enhanced Diversion group will receive the standard MMT and the Therapeutic Workplace intervention. The data from this pilot study will serve as the foundation for a full-scaled randomized controlled trial. Overall, the Therapeutic Workplace could serve as a novel and ideal intervention for many heroin dependent adults involved in the criminal justice system. The use of MMT in lieu of adjudication in combination with the Therapeutic Workplace could increase drug abstinence and employment and decrease HIV risk and criminal activity in this refractory high-risk population.
Interventions
DRUGMethadone
Clinic-Based Methadone Maintenance Treatment
DRUGBuprenorphine
Clinic-Based Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment
BEHAVIORALEmployment-based drug abstinence reinforcement
Sponsors
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Johns Hopkins University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* report using heroin at least 20 of the last 30 days of living in the community * meet criteria for methadone maintenance (at least one year of meeting DSM IV criteria for heroin dependence) * have visible track marks or other clear physical evidence of injection drug use * report using cocaine in the last 30 days * were unemployed prior to arrest * have a income below the federal poverty level * live in the Baltimore City area
Exclusion criteria
* report current suicidal ideation or hallucinations * receiving opioid pharmacotherapy prior to arrest * have a serious uncontrolled medical condition that would prevent attendance in methadone or buprenorphine treatment * are pregnant or breastfeeding * have a physical imparement that would prevent typing
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cocaine abstinence as assessed by urinalysis | One year | dichotomous (Y/N) |
| Cocaine abstinence as assessed by self-reports | One year | dichotomous (Y/N) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Any drug use (Y/N) | One year | Any drug use will be counted as Yes if a urine sample indicates that the participant is positive for any of the DOT 5 drugs, or if the participant reports using any of the DOT 5 drugs (Amphetamines, Cocaine, Marijuana, Opiates, PCP). |
| Any engagement in HIV risk behavior (Y/N) | One year | Any engagement in HIV risk behavior will be counted as Yes if a participant reports any unprotected vaginal or anal sex or reports any injection drug use that includes the sharing of injection equipment. |
| Any criminal activity (Y/N) | One year | Criminal activity will counted as Yes if a participant reports any days of illegal activity in the previous 30 days, or has been arrested for any new crime in the previous 30 days according to publically available records maintained by the Maryland DPSCS. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed