Methadone is a synthetic opiate derived for use as a treatment for pain relief during World War II. Medical professionals quickly saw the efficacy of methadone as a treatment option for heroin and morphine addiction stemming from battlefield injuries. Methadone is available as a liquid, in tablets, or as an injectable medication. Methadone is typically prescribed by medical professionals for the treatment of heroin and other opiate addiction, based on the longer-lasting effects of the drug as a deterrent to illegal use of narcotics. The effects of methadone treatment as an option for addicted clients has shown to be somewhere between highly-effective and partly-effective, relative to the severity of the addiction presented. .
The nature of addiction is that it is a chronic, relapsing condition, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking behaviors, resulting in neurochemical and molecular changes in the brain (SAMHSA, 2007). Physical dependence, euphoric high, and the profound degree of tolerance creates a self-reinforcing dynamic that results in continued, progressive, chronic drug use despite the presence of increasing negative consequences. .
Physiological Effects.
Methadone falls within the psycho-pharmacology category of opiates, similarly to heroin, .
codeine, morphine, and other drugs within this category. The additional overlay for methadone .
treatment is the addition of amphetamine-like substances that tend to counteract the effects of the opiate addiction. Methadone, as well, as other opiate-based drugs will tend to depress the Central Nervous System, resulting in the slowing of the heart rate and respiratory rate. .
One of the greatest dangers for physiological effects is the tendency of methadone users to continue to self-medicate with street drugs while participating in methadone treatment centers. This double-dosing of opiate-based drugs creates a synergistic effect of the drug, creating .
He also legalized the methadone clinics, enabling users who wanted to become clean to do so at the government and taxpayer's expense. ... Our taxes pay for the overcrowded prisons, the methadone clinics, the drug education programs, the Welfare checks that are spent on drugs, the list goes on and on. 3. 4. ... Another misconception is that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol. ...
