[Treatment offered to drug addicts].

BACKGROUND

Information on treatment facilities for legal drug dependence in Norway is not readily available.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

In 2001 a questionnaire on the treatment of legal drug dependence was mailed to 254 psychiatric and substance abuse inpatient and outpatient clinics.

RESULTS

Of the 189 respondents, 25 psychiatric and 37 substance abuse clinics had treated patients with legal drug dependence in 1999-2000. Several clinics had insufficient registration systems. 34 out of 39 outpatient and 14 out of 35 inpatient clinics used gradual, as opposed to immediate, discontinuation of drug use. Abstention from all addictive drugs was a more common treatment goal for the substance abuse clinics than for the psychiatric clinics. Use of other drugs in the treatment was inconsistent between the different clinics. Half of the clinics claimed to base their treatment on scientific evidence. Only nine of 60 clinics had made systematic evaluations of treatment efficiency.

INTERPRETATION

Institutional treatment for legal drug dependence in Norway in 1999-2000 was not well organised, and treatment ideologies and goals were diverse. We recommend one specialised clinic in this field in each of the five regional health administrations.