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Street Names:
Unknown.
Description:
Soluble powder for oral administration.
Origin and Medical Uses:
Currently used to treat people dependent on
other narcotics. The dosage is gradually reduced so that the narcotic dependent
person avoids an unpleasant withdrawal or experiences the withdrawal in small, milder
increments as the dosage is reduced. Sometimes a narcotic user is maintained on a
high dose of methadone for a prolonged period of time to help him avoid withdrawal and
function normally without having to resort to criminal behavior. While using
methadone, effects of further narcotic use are blunted because receptors in the brain are
blocked by the methadone and this helps the narcotic dependent person avoid use of other
narcotics. Can also be used medically as a long acting painkiller and a cough
suppressant. Methadone is carefully controlled and can only be obtained and used
under the close supervision of a physician and pharmacist. However, methadone can be
abused and it is valued as a street drug by abusers.
Short Term Effects:
Methadone is a narcotic drug. When a narcotic is
injected, the user feels a surge of pleasure, then a state of gratification into which
hunger, pain, and sexual urges do not intrude. The body feels warm and heavy and the
mouth feels dry. The user goes into a stupor. The dose required for this
effect may cause restlessness, nausea, and vomiting. Taken orally, the effects are
felt more gradually. Physical effects include nausea, vomiting, insensitivity to
pain, contraction of the pupils, increased urination, contstipation, sweating, itchy skin,
and slowed breathing. With very large doses the pupils contract to pinpoints, the
skin is cold, moist and bluish, and breathing may slow to a complete stop resulting in
death. Heroin use is particularly risky since purity and dosage can only be guessed
at. Use of narcotics in combination with alcohol can be very dangerous. (See synergism.)
Long Term Effects:
Severe constipation, contracted pupils,
moodiness, and menstrual irregularities. These effects disappear after the user
stops taking the drug. Chronic users may develop lung problems due to the effects of
narcotics on respiration. AIDS and other infections can be caused by unsterile
needles. Abscesses, cellulitis, liver damage, tetanus, and brain damage can also
result. Perhaps half of all narcotic dependent women have complications during
pregnancy and birth such as miscarriage, breech delivery, ceasarian section, anaemia,
cardiac disease, diabetes, pneumonia, hepatitis, and premature birth. Infants born
to narcotic addicted mothers are smaller than average and frequently share their mother's
injection related infections such as AIDS as well as her addiction. Narcotic
withdrawal can cause stillbirth. A newborn infant may suffer signs of withdrawal
because of his mother's habit.
Tolerance and Dependence:
Tolerance develops fairly rapidly, making higher doses
necessary to maintain the desired intensity of effects. Most narcotics are highly
addictive and regular use results in severe physical
dependence. Withdrawal
symptoms include severe anxiety, insomnia, profuse sweating, muscle spasms, chills,
shivering, tremors, and can occur four to five hours after the last dose. The
symptoms usually last 7 to 10 days. Dependence on less potent narcotic analgesics
such as Percodan or codeine can go undetected by the user for some time. Users may
respond to the pain of withdrawal by taking another dose without realizing they have
become addicted.
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