Why Can't U.S. Doctors Prescribe Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder?
Many addiction experts support wider methadone access.
By Mark S Gold
Published by Psychology Today on October 18, 2024
Key points
• Methadone maintenance therapy is proven safe and effective long-term treatment for opioid addiction.
• Studies show that taking methadone reduces the likelihood of an opioid overdose death.
• Many addiction medicine physicians support liberalization and improved methadone access.
Methadone, a proven detoxification medication, as part of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT), is an effective long-term treatment for people with opioid use disorders (OUDs). Studies show people taking methadone are roughly 60% less likely to die of opioid overdoses. Many people with OUDs could benefit from methadone treatment. Yet outdated rules and regulations make it virtually impossible for people with an OUD to receive a prescription for methadone directly from their physicians. Nor can they obtain methadone treatment from the hospital or fill a prescription for methadone at their neighborhood pharmacy. Methadone, by contrast, has been available by prescription in Canada since 1963, Great Britain since 1968, and Australia since 1970.
