Tue 5 May 2009
Drug Facts You Should Know: Methadone
Posted by inrecovery under Methadone
[2] Comments
Scientists from Germany synthesized methadone during World War II because morphine was in short supply. Although it is unlike morphine or heroin chemically, methadone produces many similar effects. Introduced into the US in 1947 as an analgesic (Dolophinel), it is primarily used today for the treatment of narcotic addiction. It is available in oral solutions, tablets, and injectable formulations.
Fast Facts: Methadone
Methadone is almost as effective when administered orally as it is by injection.
Methadone’s effects can last up to 24 hours, thereby permitting once-a-day oral administration in heroin detoxification and maintenance programs. High-dose methadone can block the effects of heroin, thereby discouraging the continued use of heroin by addicts under treatment with methadone.
Fast Facts: Methadone
Chronic administration of methadone results in the development of tolerance and dependence.
The withdrawal syndrome develops more slowly and is less severe but more prolonged than that associated with heroin withdrawal. Ironically, methadone used to control narcotic addiction is frequently encountered on the illicit market and has been associated with a number of overdose deaths.
May 6th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Was reading some of the good information on your website and wanted to alert you that your statement regarding methadone that it is “primarily used today for the treatment of narcotic addiction” would not be true today. There are presently three times the patients getting it for chronic pain vs. patients being prescribed methadone in addiction treatment programs. Also, four federal studies, the most recent from the General Accounting Office (GAO) attribute the rise in overdose deaths attributed to methadone to be the result of this vast increase in number of patients being prescribed for pain and the diversion from those pain management sources.
Please keep up the good work.
J.R. Neuberger
Board Member:
National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery (NAMA-Recovery)
May 6th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
actually, the methadone used in narcotic programs is RARELY found on the streets…it is the tablet form of the drug from PHARMACIES that is often associated with overdose.