Can methadone help crack cocaine addicts?
On One Hand: Methadone’s Incompatibility With Cocaine AddictionMethadone treatments work to reduce heroin cravings. Heroin causes an initial “rush” of euphoria, followed by a period of sedation, according to eMedicine.com. Methadone and heroin target the same receptors in the brain. Thus, methadone causes the temporary lack of drug craving characteristics of heroin use. In contrast, crack cocaine causes an immediate desire for more of the drug, according to the Center for Substance Abuse Research. For this reason, crack addiction treatments do not use methadone.On the Other: Study Finds Methadone Reduced Cocaine DependencyResearchers at the University of Guelph in Canada found that some cocaine-dependent rats did not experience cocaine highs after receiving methadone, suggesting methadone could be used to treat cocaine addiction.Bottom LineA study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that methadone treatment can actually increase rates of cocaine abuse.