How dangerous is methadone?
as with all other medicationseven such common household products as aspirinmethadone is dangerous, and can even be fatal, if it is used by those for whom it is not intended, or if it is inappropriately prescribed by the physician or taken by the patient. QUESTION 2: For whom should methadone be prescribed? ANSWER: as with all other medications, methadone should be available to any patient whom the physician believes is likely to benefit from it, and who voluntarily accepts it. There are no concomitant illnesses that preclude methadone, and it is irrational to demand of patients that they first “fail” with other therapeutic approaches, survive a specified number of years of dependence or reach a certain age, or meet other arbitrary and unprecedented criteria for “eligibility.” QUESTION 3: What is the optimal maintenance dose of methadone? ANSWER: as with all other medications, there is absolutely no place for moral judgements that particular dosages are inherently “good” or “bad.” There
