Why is methadone harder to “kick” than heroin?
Surveys have found that substantial numbers of MMT patients are concerned about difficulties in withdrawing from methadone, claiming it is harder to “kick” than heroin. However, this is a persistent myth that was long ago disproved. A blind comparison study years ago at a federal facility for addiction treatment in Lexington, Kentucky, found that withdrawal symptoms actually were less severe in patients maintained on methadone than in those taking equivalent doses of short-acting opioids like heroin. Because it is long-acting, withdrawal from methadone does last much longer than withdrawal from short-acting opioids. Therefore, a person who has experienced “cold turkey” withdrawal separately from heroin and methadone might say that “kicking” methadone was worse – because it lasted longer. This is one way the myth might have started and it ignores the fact that methadone withdrawal should never be done “cold turkey” to begin with. However, gradual withdrawal from methadone, when properly
