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08-03-2010, 07:31 PM
No, methadone is used in opiate addiction maintenance therapy; and for pain.
Crack does not create a physical dependence to the body the way continued use of opiates does; and therefor, does not cause withdrawal symptoms when the user ceases use.
Chasing the dragon is a term that was coined for smoking heroin.
Methadone is an opioid against- a synthetic opiate (an opiate being any of the narcotic medications used to treat pain derived from the poppy plant). It was first synthesized when a pharmacologist was trying to find a medication that was less addictive than morphine. Soldiers in the world wars were returning with morphine addictions at alarming rates; primarily because field medicine in the era was limited to pain killers, and many soldiers who became injured also beam addicted.
Methadone, as it turns out, is actually just as addictive as morphine- and heroin. In fact, the physical addiction is more severe.
Opiates, unlike other drugs like crack, coke, amphetamines, pot, LSD, etc- have a propensity for PHYSICAL addiction: your body produces natural painkillers, referred to as endorphins , in small amounts to help your body function during pain. They are also released during orgasm, moments of happiness, and exercise (?runners high?) among others.
Opiates- or Opioids- attach themselves to the same receptors in your brain that endorphins do- the caveat being, the levels of them are dramatically increased than what your own body would naturally produce.
The human body, in an attempt to conserve energy, will realize that a person who is using opiates on a regular, daily basis, are providing their body with more than enough synthetic endorphins to run properly, and the body will stop it?s own production of them. When the user stops using opiates, the body is entirely devoid of these feel good hormones, which are normally released in constant, though slow, fluctuations by the body. This is what?s known as acute, physical withdrawal.
Unlike most opiates, methadone is a time released medication- this makes the acute withdrawal phase mu longer, and more severe than that of someone withdrawing from other opiates. Though worse, the symptoms are similar- nausea, vomiting, cramping in the stomach, legs and muscles; respiratory fluctuations, irregular heartbeat, a raise in blood pressure, etc.
The user must go through this period- which last about 7 days with most opiates, but 2-4 weeks for methadone users- before the body is producing it?s own endorphins again.
Methadone has 2 uses: pain management for CHRONIC, SEVERE pain- those going through chemo, terminal disease, surgery- and for opiate addiction. The Harrison drug act made it illegal for general practitioner doctors to prescribe methadone for opiate addiction- only state run clinics can do so, and must follow rigorous regulations. A doctor may prescribe it for pain without these limitations.
Methadone for opiate addiction- MMT- is a long term, highly successful way to treat opiate addicts. It is one of many methods, but the only one with a success rate for sobriety over the rate of 22%- and also considered the safest.
It is NOT illegal to drive on IF you are on MMT- the dose of methadone used in treating opiate addiction is at a therapeutic level that does NOT impair cognitive function or motor skill- this is ensured through serum level testing on the MMT patient?s blood called a peak and trough.
When used for MMT, it simply keeps the patient from going into withdrawal- it does not give them a buzz. It also blocks the effects of other opiates.
Pain management use is different- there is an impairment factor, and it is illegal to drive on if you?re taking it for pain management, for the sedation effect it has at those high doses.
Methadone is an effective treatment for both things b/c it is time released. This factor makes it easier to take- one dose holds a patient over for 24 hours, and the time release factor makes it less likely to cause overdose- overdose from methadone is EXTREMELY RARE when taken as prescribed.
You may have noticed lately there?s been a lot of stigma about methadone- and some celebrity deaths. These however, were not the result of proper methadone use. They were the result of people taking methadone that was NOT prescribed to them, or improperly prescribed; and the ultimate cause of death was the mixing of the methadone with other meds- booze, pills, etc.
Ignorance about how it works is most often the reason it?s abused- because methadone is time released, it doesn?t produce a buzz or high- a person seeking one, who doesn?t understand the pharmacology of it- will often take more, or take other drugs in conjunction with it, when they realize they?re not getting high. The cumulative effect of that is what causes death.
Methadone, like any drug, IS dangerous- if you don?t use it as prescribed- the key phrase being WHEN TAKEN AS PRESCRIBED.
Unfortunately, the abuse of this medication has made real problems for those who were finally able to get sober with it. Hysteria, ignorance, and propaganda by uneducated people who read about tabloid deaths- but not the real causes- provoke and spread ignorance further- creating fear, and sadly, a new generation of kids who are looking for drugs that think methadone is a good one. And the cycle continues.
MMT clients are given methadone In a supervised setting- only after years of clean drug tests, total compliance, and perfect attendance can they apply for take home doses- and those are given in very small increments. Take homes must be taken home in a locked box, stored that way, and the client must be willing to bring in any unused doses within 24 hours if called, to show they?re using them properly and not selling them. If a client skips their dose, or sells it, they will become extremely ill- and once taking methadone, heroin and other opiates rarely are strong enough to stop withdrawal, or even produce a high- so MMT patients are generally not the culprits of street bought methadone.
Methadone bought on the street is usually sold by a person who either paid a physician or lied to a physician and obtained the methadone dishonestly.
Educating people on the pharmacology of methadone is the only we defense we have to a) maintain the rights of thousands of addicts who found sobriety with methadone; and b) to protect future addicts or recreational users from making the mistake of thinking methadone has a street value.
It is key to support regulation, and that ALL prescribers; NOT just MMT clinics, be required to adhere to the strict regulations MMT clinics must.
http://www.methadone.org/namadocuments/e?
(This is a breakdown of myths from NAMA- the foremost authority on MMT)
http://www.atforum.com/faqs/index.php#co?
(The FAQ section for Addiction Treatment Forums)
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publ?
(An excellent excerpt from the Methadone Factsheet on the ONDCP
http://www.aatod.org/
(Home page for the American Association for the treatment of opioid dependence)
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