Hi Steve,
I come to this board because of my sons opiad addiction, so the only thing I can tell you is I went with him once to look into suboxone. From what I learned it is the new alternative to methadone, prescribed monthly by a doctor and then they help you to come off it when they feel you are ready, as opposed to methadone, which from what I hear is much harder to come off of. I thought it sounded really good, as opposed to taking the drugs and it sounds like it helps you to get a good start on living your life normally again before you are ready to come off it. I would go to the appointment and get more info from a doctor who prescribes it. Just as any medication, there are people who have good experiences on it, and others who don't. They would not put my son on it because he hasn't taken the other steps to help himself yet and felt he was just looking for the easy way out. It may be an option for him in the future once he goes through rehab, once again, and hopefully comes out and wants to work the program.
Good luck