Rejecting the evidence: Russia's drug dependence treatment system.

In at least three regions of Russia, the drug treatment system fails to respond to the needs of injection drug users seeking treatment for their addiction. In this article, based on his presentation at a concurrent session at the conference, Diederik Lohman describes the results of research conducted by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The author explains that the Russian medical establishment ignores overwhelming scientific evidence that treatment substitution programs are both safe and effective.