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Definition

Methadone is a powerful narcotic drug in the same class as heroin. This class is known as the opioids.

Purpose

Methadone, formerly known as dolophine, is a psychoactive drug, meaning that it affects the mind or behavior. It belongs to the class of opioids, drugs that share some of the analgesic properties, and mimic the action of some of the body's naturally occurring chemicals called peptides, such as endorphins and enkephalines.

Methadone is used to relieve chronic pain in cancer patients and as a maintenance drug to control withdrawal symptoms in people undergoing treatment for opiate addiction.

In opiate addiction treatment, methadone blocks the opioid receptors of the brain that bind opiates...