Most residential treatment centers don’t offer key addiction medication to teens, OHSU study...

There’s only one drug approved by the FDA to treat opioid dependence in teens — and most adolescent treatment facilities don’t offer it.

That’s according to a new study from Oregon Health & Science University, which found that only a quarter of the country’s residential treatment facilities offered buprenorphine to teens.

The drug activates the same receptors as opioids such as fentanyl and heroin, but doesn’t produce the same intensity of euphoria.

“It gives the brain an opportunity to heal,” said Caroline King, who led the study as a medical student at OHSU. “It decreases cravings for drugs and allows your brain to kind of put itself back together again while you’re in recovery.”

Buprenorphine is approved for patients age 16 and older, and is typically used for teens with moderate to severe opioid use disorder.