Methadone and Mixed Messages

As a physician licensed to prescribe narcotics, I am legally   permitted to prescribe the powerful opioid methadone (also known by the brand name Dolophine  ) to my patients suffering from severe, intractable pain that hasn ’t been adequately controlled by other, less powerful pain killers. Most patients I encounter who might fall into that category are likely to be terminal cancer patients. I’ve often wondered why I am approved to prescribe methadone to my patients as a treatment for pain, but I am not allowed to prescribe methadone to taper my patients off of a physical dependence they may have developed from long-term opioid use, so as to help them avoid the horrible acute withdrawal syndrome. I am also not permitted to prescribe methadone as a medication-assisted treatment for addiction. These last two us es of the drug require special licensing and permits and must comply with strict federal guidelines. The synthetic opioid methadone was invented in Germany in 1937. By the 1960s, methadone was found to be effective as medication-assisted treatment for heroin addiction, and by the 1970s methadone treatment centers were established throughout the US, providing specialized and highly structured care for patients suffering from Substance Abuse Disorder. The Narcotic Addict Treatment Act of 1974 codified the methadone clinic structure. Today, methadone clinics are strictly  regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the...

Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 13, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs