Liquid methadone: Why it's used, and what this means for reform

Abstract

Last year, a census of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) conducted by the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors found that 91% of patients get liquid methadone (see “SAMHSA‐funded OTP census reveals 91% of patients get liquid methadone,” ADAW, Dec. 12, 2022; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adaw.33635). This involves special equipment, but the dose can be precisely calibrated, down to the milligram. With so much methadone reform discussion focusing on office‐based treatment, as well as dispensing by pharmacy, we decided to look more closely at why so many methadone programs use the liquid instead of diskets (which are mixed with juice) or the tablets. Below is what we found.