Evaluation of recidivism in addicts who received methadone maintenance treatment in Taiwan for 18 months.

Objectives: In August 2005, the Taiwanese government introduced Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT), one of the major strategies in fighting drug abuse; however, as of 2010, the MMT strategy still had not demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the addicted population or the recidivism rate. The aims of this study were to determine whether MMT was effective in Taiwan and to provide objective evidence to authorities before more resources were invested in this protocol. Methods: This study used a non-experimental design approach. A total of 3343 drug abusers released from correctional facilities during the first half of 2009 were divided into adaptive and non-adaptive MMT groups. Follow-up observation was done over 18 months and included drug recidivism and both property and violent crimes for each group. Results: The drug recidivism rate for the MMT group was 30.57%, whereas that for the non-MMT group was 42.03%. The lower rate of the MMT group was expected, but the efficacy of MMT was not evident at the 6- and 12-month observational periods. Only 23.64% of the addicts remained in MMT therapy. Conclusions: The adequacy of MMT implementation and its supporting measures in Taiwan must be further examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]