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that they swung from being high to being sick from withdrawal
several times a day, each cycle being terminated by another injection
of heroin, subsiding withdrawal symptoms, and blissful repose.

Endocrinologists are experts at metabolism, i.e. the way in which the
organism processes the chemicals that sustain life. Dole immediately
postulated that the heroin was being rapidly removed from the body,
leading to the withdrawal symptoms, which necessitated more heroin.
One part of the solution, he believed, would be to find an opiate,
which was removed more slowly. Another desirable characteristic of
this substance would be that it should be effective orally, to avoid the
medical consequences and dangers of injection.

He knew that scientists at the Lexington facility had attempted to
substitute other opiates, including methadone, for heroin and had not
been successful in halting the cycle of addiction. He decided to repeat
the experiences using higher doses. He observed that when he
substituted higher oral doses of methadone the wild swings between
being high and being in withdrawals ceased. The patients began to
behave more normally, and take interest in subjects unrelated to heroin
use or its acquisition. He realized then that the addicts only needed a
single dose every twenty-four hours, and postulated that this
compound was metabolized dramatically more slowly than heroin,
which was later proven correct when laboratory methods for assaying
plasma methadone levels became available.

As their experience grew, Dole and his collaborators, Drs. Marie
Nyswander and Mary Jane Kreek, became convinced that they had the
right compound, methadone, which could be used to treat heroin
addiction. They began to share their observations and results with the
scientific community, and other investigators began to use methadone
for their patients.

The criminal/justice sector was not enthusiastic. They considered it
lunacy to provide opiates to persons with addiction to them. There
were attempts made to close down the experiments and prevent others
from continuing down this pathway. However, the Rockefeller