The drug, which received federal approval over a year ago, differs from medications like methadone in that it can be dispensed in a doctor's office. Patient advocates said the convenience factor could encourage addicted individuals to seek treatment.

But a number of doctors have chosen not to prescribe the treatment, saying it is difficult to locate local pharmacies that will stock the drug or that they lack the resources to dispense narcotics to an addicted person.

Others are not dispensing the treatment because most private insurers and state Medicaid programs are not covering it.

"We're seeing less interest than we expected, especially among primary-care physicians," said Robert Lubran, director of the division of pharmacologic therapies at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Experts say buprenorphine is being given to only a few thousand addicted individuals nationwide. The National Institute for Drug Abuse estimates that there are more than 1 million individuals addicted to opiates.

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