methadone

methadone, potent synthetic narcotic drug, among the most effective agents used in medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Methadone is used in the form of its hydrochloride salt, which is a white, crystalline powder with a bitter taste. It is soluble in water, in alcohol, and in chloroform.

Methadone was originally synthesized in Germany in the late 1930s. In 1947, under the brand name Dolophine, it was introduced in the United States as an analgesic (pain reliever). Its utility in treating heroin addiction was discovered in the 1960s by researchers at Rockefeller University in New York. Shortly thereafter, the first methadone clinics emerged, offering long-term, maintenance programs to help individuals overcome heroin addiction.

Today, methadone is used in oral form on a daily basis as a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Such therapy may last for months or even years. The drug is sometimes also used for short-term opioid detoxification. This approach, however, is considerably less effective than maintenance therapy in terms of helping alleviate addiction and facilitating addiction recovery.

The usefulness of methadone as an opioid substitute stems from several important effects, particularly its ability to prevent opioid withdrawal symptoms and to suppress opioid cravings. Unlike opioid drugs such as heroin, methadone does not cause euphoric effects, nor does the body develop tolerance to methadone; thus, doses of the same (rather than increasing) size can be taken for long periods of time. In addition, when used on a maintenance basis, methadone blocks the euphoric effects, or “high,” produced by opioid drugs, thus robbing them of their psychological attractiveness to the former addict. Methadone’s lack of euphoric effects and its 24-hour period of action enable persons maintained on it to lead productive and healthy lives involving work, school, and family and social activities.