Methadone is currently the primary pharmacotherapy used in the treatment of heroin dependence. New pharmacotherapies, such as levo-alpha-acetyl-methadol (LAAM) and buprenorphine, are being trialed as alternatives to methadone maintenance. The primary question of the proposed driving research that will be addressed is whether opiate dependent individuals who are receiving methadone, LAAM, or buprenorphine, are impaired with respect to their ability to drive safely. More specifically, this project will examine the effects of methadone, LAAM and buprenorphine on the driving performance of clients stabilised on their pharmacotherapy, and clients initiating treatment. Finally, the effects of alcohol in combination with methadone, LAAM, and buprenorphine will be examined. An alcohol control group will provide a comparison of the effects of the new pharmacotherapies with an acceptable community level of drug-related impairment, being alcohol at the 0.05 percent level. The studies will be conducted on a driving simulator, and will include a series of secondary tasks in order to assess the effects of each drug on attentional capacities while driving. The dependent variables that will be examined include mean lateral position and speed, standard deviation of lateral position and speed, and reaction time to a number of secondary tasks. (A)
Samenvatting