Why is methadone used as a substitute for heroin?!

Why is methadone used as a substitute for heroin?

Being addicted to Methadone is pretty bad too I would think...I don't know just curious...

2 days ago
Good answers so far...I was doing some reading just now from some blogs of ex-heroin addicts on methadone. The majority of them said that they have been able to quit heroin cold turkey at one point, however no of them can quit methadone even once. Very interesting stuff...one horribly addicting drug for another...

I have done a lot of research on it because of some pain issues, and honestly, the only reason I can see for putting someone on methadone is that it is delivered in a clinical setting with supervision, while heroin is used in an unsupervised setting, and may involve the use of dirty needles and HIV transmission, as well as criminal activity to get money for the drugs. The only other benefit is that the dose is consistent, so there's less chance of accidental OD, which is always a problem when you are buying drugs on the street because you don't know the exact purity of what you are taking.

They used to think that methadone made it easier to quit heroin, which in theory it does--it simply replaces a natural opiate with a synthetic one, so the person is no longer doing heroin. I know methadone has a longer half-life, so you don't have to dose as often (hence people can just go in once a day), and it's also cheaper than most other narcotic pain killers from a pure analgesic standpoint, but it really makes no sense to me. I know some people who have been on methadone maintenance for years and years--I met a man once who had been on it since the mid 80s, which at that time meant a little over 10 years. He happened to work a block away from the methadone clinic, so it was very convenient for him to pop in for his dose during his morning break at work, but it was a hassle for him to have to drive into town on weekends. He actually told me that he had attempted to get off methadone twice, and it was harder than detoxing from heroin, so go figure.

The one thing I do know, just from personal experience with opiates (all legally prescribed to me) is that you build up a tolerance over time, and after a while you don't really get high. Mine are prescribed for pain, and they used to make me really loopy and out of it for hours, but now they just make me loopy for a little bit (but they also don't control pain very well anymore). I would imagine it's the same with both heroin and methadone--you don't get high anymore, you just don't get the crawlies and have a tremendous need for more. The other thing I know is that people who are given methadone for pain management have a higher incidence of fatal OD than people who are given other opiates. Most opiates interfere with breathing--your lungs just stop working. Methadone, on the other hand, seems to interfere with something in the heart, instead. It's making a comeback as a painkiller in the US (for a while there it was strictly used for heroin addicts), and people are dying from using it.

I guess Uncle Sam doesn't mind if you're an addict as long as he's your dealer.