TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2002//
TI  - Methadone maintenance treatment, criminality and overdose-related deaths. an ecological study, 1983-1999
JO  - European journal of public health
A1  - Niveau, G.
A1  - Rougemont, Anne-Laure
A1  - La Harpe, R.
SP  - 224
EP  - 227
VL  - 12
IS  - 3
N2  - BACKGROUND: Methadone maintenance treatments (MMTs) are the commonest substitution treatments offered to opiate addiction in Switzerland, in order to reduce criminal behaviour, infectious disease transmission and overdose death. METHOD: To investigate the relationship between the increase in the number of methadone maintenance treatments, criminal activity of addicts and overdose-related deaths, an ecological study was undertaken in the Canton of Geneva, from 1983 to 1999. RESULTS: The regular and extensive increase in the number of MMTs is not significantly associated, during the 1983-1999 period, with a fall either in drug addict incarcerations or in overdose-related deaths. However, a slight decrease is observed in the number of imprisoned opiate addicts since 1994, and a marked decrease is seen in overdose deaths from 1997 on. An important and stable number of these deaths is due to methadone itself. CONCLUSION: Public health objectives to diminish delinquency and overdose deaths cannot solely be fulfilled by extensive use of MMTs. A positive result could appear when access to MMT is highly favoured. This hypothesis must be proved correct by observational studies conducted on a general population.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1101-1262
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -