Treatment Outcomes of African American Buprenorphine Patients by Parole and Probation Status.

This secondary analysis compared outcomes of African-American adults newly-admitted to buprenorphine treatment who were on parole and probation to patients who were not under criminal justice supervision. Buprenorphine patients (N=300) were randomly assigned to receive either Intensive Outpatient Treatment (IOP) or Standard Outpatient Treatment (OP) treatment and were assessed at baseline, 3- and 6-months. There were no differences between groups in treatment retention. Among probationers/parolees, IOP was associated with lower 3-month treatment retention compared to OP, but among participants not on probation/parole the relationship was reversed (=.004). Both conditions showed significant declines in heroin and cocaine use, illegal activity, and in meeting DSM-IV criteria for opioid and cocaine dependence. Probationers/parolees reported lower frequency of illegal activities at 3-months compared to non-probationers/parolees (=.007). Buprenorphine treatment should be made more widely available to individuals on parole/probation as they respond as well to treatment as patients not supervised by the criminal justice system.