{"id":19606,"date":"2025-07-06T16:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T15:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=19606"},"modified":"2025-07-06T16:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T15:24:09","slug":"a-comparative-study-of-the-use-of-methadone-and-naltrexone-in-the-treatment-of-opioid-dependency-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/07\/a-comparative-study-of-the-use-of-methadone-and-naltrexone-in-the-treatment-of-opioid-dependency-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0A Comparative Study of the Use of Methadone and Naltrexone in the Treatment of Opioid Dependency"},"content":{"rendered":"

From:<\/strong> Herschel Baker –\u00a0International Liaison Director,\u00a0Drug Free Australia – 06 July 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

Drug Free Australia forwarded this paper by Dr Ross Colquhoun, Executive Committee Member and Research Fellow for DFA.<\/span><\/p>\n

The paper runs to 105 pages; was written on\u00a0 April 12, 2025 and was posted on 2 May 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/acrobat.adobe.com\/id\/urn:aaid:sc:AP:23cb5790-410e-4a7b-be9d-0d6d9a30bdaa?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Abstract<\/span><\/h3>\n

This paper presents a critical evaluation of opioid agonist treatment (OAT), particularly methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), compared with opioid antagonist therapy using naltrexone. Drawing on a broad body of literature including randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and government reports, the paper questions the longstanding assumptions regarding the effectiveness and safety of methadone. It highlights serious concerns regarding methadone-related mortality-especially during induction and cessation phases-long-term dependency, limited efficacy in preventing illicit drug use, and poor impact on the transmission of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis C. The review also exposes methodological weaknesses and selective reporting in key studies supporting MMT. In contrast, evidence is presented to support the safety and effectiveness of long-acting naltrexone implants, which offer lower relapse rates, improved social functioning, and the potential for complete abstinence without ongoing opioid dependency. The paper argues that the continued privileging of methadone by public health institutions may be driven more by ideology and institutional inertia than evidence. It calls for a re-evaluation of harm reduction policies and urges greater accessibility to abstinence-focused, naltrexone-based treatment options, along with ancillary psychological and medical support. Recommendations include transparency in data reporting, broader dissemination of naltrexone research, and a policy shift toward full recovery rather than prolonged maintenance.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Keywords:<\/strong> Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT), Naltrexone, Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT), Harm Reduction, Opioid Dependency, Relapse Prevention, Public Health Policy, Overdose Mortality, Evidence-Based Treatment<\/span><\/p>\n

Suggested Citation:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Colquhoun, Ross, A Comparative Study of the Use of Methadone and Naltrexone in the Treatment of Opioid Dependency (April 12, 2025). Available at SSRN (formerly known as Social Science Research Network: )https:\/\/ssrn.com\/abstract=5238680\u00a0or\u00a0http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.2139\/ssrn.5238680<\/span><\/div>\n
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To access the full document:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Click on the \u2018Source\u2019 link below.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. An image\u00a0 \u2013 the front page of the full document will appear.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Click on the image to open the full document.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
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    <\/div>\n
    Source:\u00a0<\/strong>Naltrexone v Methadone – SSRN<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    From: Herschel Baker –\u00a0International Liaison Director,\u00a0Drug Free Australia – 06 July 2025 Drug Free Australia forwarded this paper by Dr Ross Colquhoun, Executive Committee Member and Research Fellow for DFA. The paper runs to 105 pages; was written on\u00a0 April 12, 2025 and was posted on 2 May 2025 https:\/\/acrobat.adobe.com\/id\/urn:aaid:sc:AP:23cb5790-410e-4a7b-be9d-0d6d9a30bdaa? Abstract This paper presents a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,22,34,106,135,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-australia","category-effects-of-drugs-papers","category-heroin-methadone","category-medical-studies-papers","category-opioids","category-treatment-addiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}