For patients with addiction, periods of abstinence can mean death by overdose if they start using drugs again. Last week, the federal government relaxed its restrictions around the distribution of methadone, an opioid-based treatment medication that helps reduce cravings and also maintain patients’ tolerance to prevent overdoses.
Under normal circumstances, the opioid-based medication is taken daily under supervision at a special clinic. Under the new guidelines, stable patients living in states that have declared coronavirus emergencies can take up to 28 days’ worth of methadone doses home, in order to reduce lines at clinics.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
