In the first Druglink of 1996, an article claimed that methadone had a death rate four times that of heroin. If this is true, the drug field’s response to heroin addiction urgently needs to be reconsidered. However, a brief analysis of the figures shows that the death rates are much more similar. The worry is that the argument against methadone may be used by some to justify an argument against substitute prescribing all together.
Additional keywords: methadone maintenance / maintenance therapy / heroin maintenance