Painkiller Dihydrocodeine to Replace Methadone in Treating Heroin Addiction

Scottish researchers from Universities of Edinburgh, Napier and Adelaide found and tested a painkiller dihydrocodeine as an alternative to methadone in treating heroin addiction.

As the first of its kind, the study lasted three and a half years and included 235 people requiring treatment for heroin addiction in Edinburgh.

The new drug did not only proven to be safer but it also turned out to be 50% cheaper than methadone.

Dihydrocodeine is found to be less toxic and therefore under less stringent regulations, easier to store, and less likely to cause overdoses. Its treatment costs would be about £700 a year while methadone treatment requires £1500 for one patient alone.

Although Dihydrocodeine has been used before for treating drug addicts, it’s effectiveness had never been tested.