Use of Pharmacological Interventions in Substance Abuse Treatment Research Paper

Use of Pharmacological Interventions in Substance Abuse Treatment - Research Paper Example Pharmacological interventions in the course of substance abuse treatment involve the use of clinical drugs to help people with drug and alcohol-related problems to get over the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1999). The use of pharmacological interventions is quite effective in handling exposure to trigger cues for drug taking and drug carving. Pharmacological interventions have been widely used in the treatment of withdrawal symptoms (Cohen, Young, and McChargue, 2009). These interventions normally reduce these symptoms, thus making it easier for the patient to get over his or her addiction quickly enough. Pharmacological intervention programs often involve the use of different types of drugs whose effects can minimize the agony caused by withdrawal symptoms. Special medication which makes the patients feel like they are on the addictive drugs is administered for a certain period of time and then the administration is gradually withdrawn (Rotgers, Morgenstern and Walters, 2003). This way, the brain is able to stabilize, which in effect makes the detoxification process easier and much faster. Some of the drugs used in pharmacological interventions include naltrexone, buprenorphine or naloxone, acamprosate, methadone and LAAM, disulfiram, oxycodone, bupropion, varenicline, naltrexone, and topiramate. naltrexone is used in the intervention of alcohol and opiates related abuse. These pharmacological drugs work by blocking opiate receptors, thereby helping prevent the release of dopamine into the body. The lack of dopamine lessens cravings for opiates and alcohol. Buprenorphine also works by blocking the effects of opiates on the body system.