Guidance

Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management

How clinicians should treat people with drug misuse and drug dependence problems.

• From: Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 14 July 2017
• Last updated: 15 December 2017 — See all updates

Documents

Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management

PDF, 2.25 MB, 317 pages

Details

Often called the Orange Book, this is guidance for clinicians treating people with drug problems.

This 2017 version offers new guidelines on:

• prison-based treatment
• new psychoactive substances and club drugs
• mental health co-morbidity
• misuse of prescribed and over-the-counter medicines
• stopping smoking
• preventing drug-related deaths, including naloxone provision

The new guidelines also have a stronger emphasis on recovery and a holistic approach to the interventions that can support recovery.

Published 14 July 2017
Last updated 15 December 2017 + show all updates

1. 15 December 2017

   Updated with latest version of guidelines.

2. 14 July 2017

   First published.