A study on a new treatment for chronic heroin users will begin in the coming year.
An opiate drug called Hydromorphone will be administered to 322 heroine users over four years to see if the drug is more effective than traditional methadone treatment.
The drug trial is a follow up to the NAOMI study, which administered controlled doses of Diacetylmorphine, a derivative of heroine, to chronic users.
In the NAOMI study, a small group of patients were given Hydromorphone and it was found that most did not notice they were given a different drug, said Trish Walsh of the Inner Change Foundation.
Walsh believes that the drug could be a break through for heroin addiction treatment and hopes it will become an effective tool for recovery.
The drug is just one part of the two-part program says Walsh, patients will also be given psycho-social counseling to help them.
