After intake has ceased, it is released from these stores over a long period of time. Finally, methadone induces an increased activity of hepatic enzymes and a dose-dependent depression of the immune function. Toxicity and side-effects are independent of whether the drug is legal or not. The psychic effects of opiates include sedation, distortions of perception, an increase in reaction time, sleep disorders, and disorders of the libido. Chronic opiate addicts suffer from a typical change of personality and a standstill in its development, even when the opiate is prescribed legally.
Opiates have an immensely addictive potency.
Withdrawal from methadone is even more complicated, longer-lasting, and more painful than withdrawal from heroin. The problem of opiate-dependent pregnant women is not solved by methadone or heroin maintenance. This means that methadone is taken as the daily base-drug, free of charge of course. For the addict, a prescription of methadone or heroin maintenance means that she is considered a hopeless case by her doctor, that she is an individual who is no longer able to live without drugs. Her personal problems, which were the primary cause of her drug career, are not solved at all.