For several years now, methadone has been the mainstay of heroin addiction treatment in Rhode Island. However, in recent years, the use of this substance has gone steadily on the decline. To understand why this is happening, we must see how methadone works on the consumer's body.

Methadone is an opioid, which is the same family of chemicals that heroin belongs to. Due to this similarity, it can act on the body of the person in the same manner that heroin acts. The advantage of this is that as long as the person is on methadone treatment, he or she will not feel the craving for heroin. This is the whole premise on which the methadone heroin treatment in Rhode Island works.

But there are certainly several problems. Methadone is a highly addictive substance itself; therefore, it cannot be stopped abruptly. It becomes necessary to slowly reduce the dosage of this substance, which must be done under expert medical care. Also, inpatient treatment becomes necessary because methadone can interfere with other prescription drugs that the person might be consuming.

The other method for heroin drug treatment in Rhode Island today, which uses buprenorphine, has removed most of these difficulties. It acts in the same manner as methadone does, but it is not as habit forming as methadone is. This makes it safe to take. Also, it is not contraindicated for most prescription drugs. In fact, it is right to say that outpatient treatment for heroin addiction in Rhode Island became possible only because of the FDA approval of buprenorphine containing drugs, Suboxone and Subutex. Most rehab centers have turned to using these substances for heroin treatment now.

Due to the wide popularity of these substances, it is easy to understand why the use of methadone for heroin drug addiction treatment in Rhode Island is on the decline today.