Methadone is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) as a medication-assisted treatment (MAT), as well as for pain management. When taken as prescribed, methadone is safe and effective.
Benefits of methadone therapy include: Reduction in infectious disease due to stopping opiate abuse, particularly injection drug abuse. Reduction in criminal activity due to stopping illicit drug use. Overall improvement in quality of life.
Methadone is a strong opioid and may be suitable for people whose pain is uncontrolled with morphine (e.g. neuropathic pain) or who are unable to tolerate morphine (e.g. idiosyncratic reactions, or in renal failure)