New treatment designed to prevent opioid addicts from relapsing

The opioid addiction crisis has hit Western Pennsylvania hard and has brought waves of addicts into courtrooms in every district.

When asked what frustrates him, Judge Richard Opiela was quick to respond: "The lack of accountability, the lack of responsibility. Court has become the new normal."

Opiela has served decades on the bench and is one of the most experienced magistrates in Allegheny County, deciding more than 5,000 criminal cases each year. He said many of those cases are retail thefts from stores along McKnight Road -- petty thefts he said are driven by drug addiction.

"I think we are headed for disaster if we don't get back to simple and common sense," Opiela said.

TRENDING NOW:

• Dad stranded daughter in desert with no shoes or water after argument, deputies say
• Police: Impaired driver arrested in car with no windshield, no doors, ax sticking out of roof
• Five things to know about 3 women killed in crash
• VIDEO: Police shoot, kill man while serving warrant at wrong home

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP

The judge said he's learned through experience that when it comes to crimes committed by someone addicted to illegal drugs, sending someone to jail can make matters worse.

"We can't jail people into rehab. When people are jailed or incarcerated,they are losing jobs, losing their way. So it's a combination of things," Opiela said.

The winning combination right now, the judge said, is first admitting the addiction, then adding counseling, and a new treatment called Vivitrol.

Vivitrol is an injectable drug that's designed to prevent a patient with opioid dependence from relapsing.

"I tried everything as soon as I started. This was like a switch -- no more cravings, no more obsessive thoughts," said a recovering addict who sat down with Channel 11's Renee Kaminski. The addict wanted his identity kept private, but told Kaminski the drug Vivitrol saved his job and probably his life.

The drug is given once monthly in a shot, and while the patient feels normal pain associated with an injection, the drug itself doesn't make the addict feel any different. There's no pain and no euphoria.

Dr. Neil Capretto, medical director at Gateway Rehab, said he's probably started more than 500 patients on the drug in the last year. And while the drug is expensive, Capretto said many insurance companies cover the cost.

But for Opiela, who sees addicts every day, the issue needs more than a pharmaceutical solution.

"There's a magical pill that people are looking for to fix problems, and sometimes you have to work through them," said Opiela.

Cox Media Group