Methadone maintenance 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 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. Users often refer to Methadone as "Liquid Handcuffs"
Read more about Methadone Maintenance: Modality, Dispensing, Travel, Controversy
Famous quotes containing the word maintenance:
“However patriarchal the world, at home the child knows that his mother is the source of all power. The hand that rocks the cradle rules his world. . . . The son never forgets that he owes his life to his mother, not just the creation of it but the maintenance of it, and that he owes her a debt he cannot conceivably repay, but which she may call in at any time.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)