The most significant Methodone feature is its exactly identical pharmacodynamics and methodone mechanism of action as that of morphine in equipotent (equianalgesic) doses. Methodone is an agonist with diphenyl structure (2 phenyl rings at the center).
The psychological behaviour of methadone addiction is not as markedly abnormal as that of other pure agonists like heroin, morphine or pethidine.
Systematically these addicts are converted to ‘methadone addicts,’ where they can still play some constructive role in the society and can lead semblance of normal life.
As a result as such, since methodone mechanism of action has not specific therapeutic advantage over other existing pure agonists, its only use is in “Detox” programmes of these, especially heroin and morphine addicts.