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Heroin effective in treating addiction

Using heroin's active ingredient to treat addiction is cheaper and more effective than using methadone, according to a new study in Canada.

Currently, methadone is the most common treatment used for people who are dependent on opioids such as heroin.

However, over time, most addicts will go back to using illicit drugs.

Now, researchers from the University of British Columbia, Université de Montréal and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine suggest that injectable diacetylmorphine - the active ingredient in heroin - is not only cheaper, but also more effective for treating addiction.