The majority of specialist drug treatment services only treat those whose primary drug of addiction is an illicit drug, such as crack or heroin, and do not routinely treat individuals who are primarily addicted to prescription drugs.
However, people with illicit drug problems often misuse a variety of drugs, including prescription drugs. In cases like this, the specialist drug treatment service will treat both the illicit drug use and the prescription drug use.
Individuals whose primary drug of addiction is a prescribed drug and who do not have an illicit drug problem are normally treated in a primary care setting or by mental health services.
A range of guidance is available to specialist drug treatment services, including the joint Department of Health and National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse guidelines, “Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management”, published in September 2007, which can be found on the Department's website at
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthimprovement/Substancemisuse/Substancemisusegeneralinformation/DH_4064342