[Methadone maintenance: adoption of a new harm reduction approach in Hungary]

Methadone with its favourable physiological effects in comparison to heroin has been the most well-known and widely used tool of substitution treatment in heroinism. Research on efficiency has produced evidence of the fact that methadone maintenance as a model method of harm reduction is an efficient treatment of heroin dependent patients if used in the appropriate dose and indication. Due to its addictive effects, there has been some resistance against its worldwide spreading, especially in Central Eastern Europe. Methadone maintenance became a legal medical method in Hungary during the last ten years with approved classified protocol and manual owing to the consistent efforts of addiction-professionals, who were convinced of the treatment's efficacy. The process involved numerous conflicts, police provisions and media scandals. Professional legitimacy of methadone maintenance may hopefully be proved by research on efficiency in the near future.