A preliminary study of desipramine in the treatment of cocaine abuse in methadone maintenance patients.

Intravenous cocaine use is a major problem in methadone maintenance programs. In this pilot study of 16 cocaine-abusing methadone maintenance patients, 8 received desipramine and 8 received no medication other than methadone. During an 8-week open trial the desipramine patients reported significantly less cocaine craving and had less cocaine use than the other patients.