How COVID pandemic changed methadone treatment for addiction

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer

Here’s one more lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic: It appears safe to relax restrictions on methadone, the oldest and most stigmatized treatment drug for opioid addiction. Early research shows that allowing more people to take methadone at home didn’t lead to surges of overdoses or illegal sales. Take-home doses and phone counseling helped some people stay in recovery and get on with their lives. Since the 1970s, rigid rules have required most to line up and take the medicine at clinics. U.S. health officials are studying the changes and how they might be continued.