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Methadone Treatment for Heroin Addiction Methadone is a synthetic opioid analgesic synthesized in 1937 by German scientists Max Bockmühl and Gustav Ehrhart at IG Farben (Hoechst-Am-Main) who were searching for an analgesic that would be easier to use during surgery and also have low addiction potential. Methadone is a Schedule II drug under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Methadone has a slow metabolism and very high lipid solubility making it longer lasting than morphine-based drugs. Methadone has a typical half life of 24 hours or more, permitting the administration only once a day in heroin detoxification and maintenance programs. The most common mode of delivery at a Methadone clinic is in an oral solution. Methadone is almost as effective when administered orally as by injection. Just like heroin, tolerance and dependence frequently develop. Withdrawal symptoms are generally less acutely severe than those of morphine and heroin, but are usually more prolonged. Considered generally effective in management of heroin addiction and harm reduction (reduction of HIV rates, etc...), some heroin addicts feel that it is actually harder to quit methadone than heroin itself. Treatment at a methadone maintenance clinic is intended to be for an indefinite duration, as the treatment is not curative.
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