Opiate replacement therapy

Encyclopedia : O : OP : OPI : Opiate replacement therapy

Opiate Replacement Therapy (ORT) is the medical procedure of replacing an illegal opiate drug such as heroin with a longer acting but less euphoric opiate such as methadone or buprenorphine. Drugs such as buprenorphine are manufactured in pill form with the opiate antagonist Naloxone to prevent addicts from crushing the tablets and injecting them instead of taking them sublingually (under the tongue). The driving principle behind ORT is that an opiate addict will be able to regain a normal life and schedule by dosing themselves with a pill that stops them from experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but doesn't provide radical euphoria that drugs like heroin do. The theory behind use of ORT is that as a result, addicts will live normal lives.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.