Methadone maintenance

Methadone maintenance treatment is the use of methadone, a synthetic, habit forming drug used as a substitute, administered over a prolonged period of time (can be indefinite), as treatment for someone who is addicted to opioids (such as heroin), where detoxification has been unsuccessful and/or admittance to a substance abuse treatment facility requires complete abstinence. "Methadone maintenance makes possible a first step toward social rehabilitation..." (Auerbach, 1976 p. 26) by fixing and maintaining the level of drugs in an addicts system thereby avoiding the uncomfortable and commonly intense withdrawal symptoms that abstinence from the substance of abuse initiates. Methadone maintenance can also be used for those that suffer with severe pain problems that are resistant to other drugs.