West Virginia Methadone Detox

Methadone is a prescription synthetic opioid medication used to treat severe, chronic pain. It’s also given to people recovering from opioid addiction to help them get off illicit opioids or as a long-term substitute for more dangerous opioids. But that doesn’t mean Methadone is safe. The drug is still potent and addictive and kills many people yearly due to overdose.

Methadone usually takes on two primary forms: pills or liquid. In pill form, Methadone is usually a white, oblong tablet, but it can also be in the form of a round tablet or a wafer. Liquid Methadone is most commonly administered in a clinical setting where the drug is given to people previously on illicit opioids like heroin. Known as a Methadone clinic, the substance is often found in a red syrup that resembles cough medicine.

Methadone stays in the system longer than most opioids and can be detected in the urine for as much as two weeks. It can be detectable even longer than two weeks for people who take higher doses of Methadone and have been on the drug long-term. For this reason and the drug’s long-term health effects, Methadone clinics have spurred controversy about the efficacy and morality of medication-centric approaches.

Methadone was created as a pain reliever and has the same addictive properties as other opiates. Furthermore, Methadone is given to many patients as a means to get them off other opiates, so many people taking Methadone already have a dependency when they begin taking it. Once one starts to take the drug, tolerance develops rapidly as the drug slowly accumulates in the bloodstream. Methadone takes a long time to leave the system, and with regular use, dependence occurs. Methadone can be more difficult to quit than many other opioids due to severe withdrawal that can last for weeks.

Methadone is primarily ingested orally as a pill or liquid. However, when the drug is abused illicitly, it’s often injected. IV Methadone use presents the same risks as other IV drug use. The drug is notorious for combining poorly with other depressant substances and causing overdose and death.

The questions from Addicted.org’s “Ask a Professional” are answered by Michael Leach, CCMA. If you need further clarification on any of the questions above or have any other questions you can contact him directly at [email protected].