"Methadone emerged as a maintenance treatment modality for heroin dependence in the mid-1960s. Mark Parrino, added that opioid treatment programs (OTPs) came into existence because of a rejection by the medical community to treat this particular patient population.
"By 1972, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had instituted severe regulations that restricted access, said Roberts. These regulations were designed primarily to prevent methadone from being diverted to the street, he said. For example, patients were required to receive medication under close supervision at federally approved clinics and submit to regular urine testing. Some states also employed coercive tactics, such as requiring participation in a methadone program in order to receive public benefits or to obtain release from prison, said Roberts. Physicians were also subject to close scrutiny and were required to have complicated security systems to prevent diversion."
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Methadone Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Improving Access Through Regulatory and Legal Change: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26635.