If an opiate addict is not on some sort of maintenance treatment (either methadone or buprenorphine), their risk of relapse is more than 90 percent. The idea that there's a difference between a "long term lifer" opiate addict and ... what? A "short term addict"? is nonsense. Whether your drug of choice is heroin…

When combined with therapy, support groups and life-skills classes, methadone can be a powerful tool for addicts. After a certain milligram dosage, methadone stops the brain from processing a high. If someone on a blocking dose goes out and uses, they won't get high. It does nothing for them. Knowing this can help…

The idea of methadone treatment is that you're supposed to slowly decrease your dosage and eventually wean yourself off of opiates, kinda like nicotine patches for smokers. Methadone isn't supposed to be a "cure" for heroin addiction, it's just a substitute drug that can be legally obtained, for good or bad...