Isn methadone just a substitution for heroin?
Dr. Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, describes addiction as a brain disease that is expressed by compulsive behavior. Because of the many advances in medicine and research, we now know that when people use heroin or other opiates for a long time, the activity in people’s reward/pleasure center of their brain fails to function correctly. Methadone is a medication that serves to normalize their brain functioning giving them the opportunity to live stable and productive lives. Brain functioning can become normalized with counseling as well which is a priority in Kû Aloha opioid treatment programs for all participants.
