At 32, this young man from Russia's Tatarstan Republic has almost a decade of heroin abuse behind him. After years of dependence and a series of failed attempts to quit drugs, Eduard signed up for detoxification at a state-run clinic in 1998.

In this week’s BMJ experts debate whether heroin should be prescribed to addicts who are difficult to treat.

UCSF is launching a new study to evaluate treatments for addiction to prescription painkillers and has openings for patients to enroll.