Conditions: Alcohol Dependence
Keywords: Alcohol dependence Acamprosate(drug) Drug Court Probation Parole Criminal justice
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 26
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to test how tolerable and effective acamprosate is when used to prevent alcohol relapse in criminal justice supervisees (those on probation, parole, or in drug court).

Detailed description:
Acamprosate has been an available treatment for alcohol dependence outside the United States and has recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an effective therapy for alcohol dependence. In the past ten years, drug court programs have been implemented as one possible solution to reduce the burden placed on state and federal correctional systems. These programs are generally focused on non-violent drug dependent offenders and are offered as an alternative to incarceration. However, the use of acamprosate has never been examined for alcohol relapse prevention among a drug court population, or among those on probation or parole.

Comparison: Alcohol-dependent criminal justice supervisees who receive acamprosate, compared to participants who do not receive acamprosate.

Arms:
arm 1: Subjects randomized to receive acamprosate arm 2: No medication intervention (subjects do not receive acamprosate), but do receive Building Social Networks counseling

Interventions: intervention 1: Acamprosate
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Subjects randomized to receive acamprosate 333 mg tablets to be taken 3 times daily to prevent relapse to alcohol dependence

Protocol document: