OT: Heroin can actually be safer, due to the long onset and long lasting effects of methadone. Methadone can take several hours to kick in, leading patients to

OT: Heroin can actually be safer, due to the long onset and long lasting effects of methadone. Methadone can take several hours to kick in, leading patients to think they might not have taken enough, and take some more. It also lasts much longer than Heroin. 3x10mg methadone pills may be enough to cause an overdose in a naive patient. Given the long times involved, this isn't an unrealistic scenario. Whereas with Heroin, a: oral bioavailability is rather low, and b: action happens faster, thus an OD is less likely. (Not true for IV usage, but hopefully such patients exercise more caution in the first place, reality excepted.) And both aren't really "bad" for you, as far as long-term medicines go. The side effect profile is positively tame compared to other commonly accepted medicines such as anti-depressants or mood stabilizers.