You probably know that medical professionals use drugs to treat drug addiction. Although that treatment method may sound counterintuitive at first, it actually makes a lot of sense.

You see drug treatment quite often in the treatment of opiate/opioid addictions. If people abuse opiates/opioids such as heroin, codeine, fentanyl, oxycodone (OxyContin), Norco/Vicodin or similar drugs, they are obviously going to miss them when they go off of them. Their bodies and brains are going to crave the effects that the drugs once provided.

Professionals at rehab facilities use other opioids, such as methadone, Suboxone, and others, or medications that combine opioids and other medications. They prescribe these drugs because they’re similar to the drugs their patients have been abusing. This continued use means that their bodies and brains are still receiving similar substances. Their bodies will think and feel as if things are the same and relatively normal. Their bodies and brains going go from using powerful substances to not using them at all. It isn’t an abrupt change. Instead, opioids provide a transition.

Critics will argue that methadone, Suboxone, and other maintenance drugs are still d25rugs, however. They say that using these medications swaps one addiction for another. Other treatment options have faced similar criticism.

For example, some people swear that using marijuana can be an effective way to wean people from drug addictions. Others swear that using hallucinogens may also help drug addicts. For example, some people have claimed that the hallucinogen ibogaine effectively treated their addictions to opioids or cocaine. Other studies have found evidence that ibogaine might be effective in reducing cravings for alcohol and helping people stay sober.

Millions of Americans use drugs for medical reasons. Millions also abuse drugs. With so many people suffering and dying from such afflictions, wouldn’t it be worth it to research and try these options?