There are programs offered in or near Ottawa which service both methadone and buprenorphine clients only, controlled medications which are used in what is called opioid maintenance therapy. Methadone is a full opioid agonist the same as heroin, and buprenorphine is a partial agonist, which means the same neural receptors which cause an individual to feel high from morphine or heroin are activated by these two drugs so therefore an opiate addicted client will ideally no longer engage in drug seeking behavior and won't experience withdrawal symptoms. There are risks of drug interactions, side effects, and even addiction and overdose with both buprenorphine and methadone, which is why they are highly controlled and can only be administered in a clinical setting.
Buprenorphine and methadone clients take these medications consistently so they don't experience withdrawal symptoms, etc. but ideally at a dosage which isn't at the same time making them feel high. Euphoria is possible at at higher dosages, more significantly with methadone than buprenorphine. At clinics that treat methadone and buprenorphine clients only, treatment therapies are limited beyond this and the primary treatment objective is to address the withdrawal symptoms and put an end to the illicit drug use. Some centers do deliver a small amount of counseling and therapy as auxiliary services, and it is encouraged.
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