FIGURE 6.

Strategies to treat opioid addiction and dependence. Current strategies to treat opioid addiction mainly involve detoxification therapy followed by maintenance of opioid substitution therapy. Detoxification therapies harness MOR antagonists such as naloxone and naltrexone to reverse the acute intoxication effects. Substitution therapies include dose‐monitored opioid agonists, methadone and buprenorphine (with formulations of Suboxone and RBP‐6000), with lasting and less euphoric effects to reduce withdrawal syndrome. α2‐Adrenergic receptor agonists, including clonidine and lofexidine, are non‐opioid therapies targeting the withdrawal symptoms caused by norepinephrine hyperactivity during opioid abstinence