About Methadone Treatment Centers

Methadone is a medicine that is safe and successful for the treatment of opiate withdrawal and addiction. Methadone has been used for more than three decades for this very purpose. Opiates include Heroin, Vicodin, Oxycontin and Morphine. Methadone represses opiate withdrawal for 24 to 36 hours. It only works for those addicted to opioid drugs. Methadone decreases the desire connected with heroin use and obstructs the user from getting high.

Theory

• Methadone Treatment Centers also are known as Replacement Therapy Centers. Users go to the centers to replace one drug with another. They are replacing an illegal street drug that is associated with countless deaths for a drug that is safe, legal and regulated by the government. Methadone patients do not get high from the drug as they do with opiates, and Methadone blocks the receptors in the brain that allow users to get high from any opiates.

Prevention/Solution

• Methadone patients often call for uninterrupted treatment for a number of years. Methadone maintenance treatment centers present the opiate addict with individual care and medically approved methadone to alleviate withdrawal symptoms, decrease the opiate desire, and to create biochemical stability in the body.

Facts

• The Office of National Drug Control says that there are in excess of 800,000 opiate addicts in the U.S. and only a very small number receive methadone treatment. Methadone Treatment Centers follow federal regulations that limit the use and control the accessibility of methadone. The regulations are set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. States also have laws that control and strictly supervise the circulation of methadone.

How it Works

• Methadone is a legal drug that is created by certified pharmaceutical companies. When a patient begins treatment at a methadone center they do so under the supervision of a licensed physician. Methadone is given daily and is dispensed orally. The conditions and strategy of the program are very strict. In addition to receiving methadone, patients also are required to attend counseling, have regular check ups by the staff doctor, and to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Benefits

• There are a number of benefits associated with methadone treatment when compared with continued use of the street opiate. Methadone costs less than $12 per day, which is much cheaper than using drugs or being incarcerated for drug use. Methadone maintenance also is very helpful in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, Hepatitis, and other diseases. Patients who seek methadone treatment do not have to commit crimes, they can be gainfully employed. Treatment also lowers hospitalization rate.