The California Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration states that methadone is an opioid (synthetic opium-like substance) that has been used for nearly 40 years in Woodland Hills to treat opiate and opioid addiction. It works by blocking the opiate receptors in the brain, thereby reducing cravings and eliminating withdrawal symptoms. This allows patients to participate in counseling and therapy so that they can enact the positive lifestyle changes necessary for their long-term mental and physical well-being and sustained sobriety and drug abstinence.

Woodland Hills Methadone clinics are another type of drug treatment program available for Woodland Hills residents. There are public and private methadone clinics in Woodland Hills for the treatment of substance abuse. While private clinics are not totally free, public methadone clinics are federal government-funded, have a waiting list, and are typically paid for by the taxpayers. People typically detoxing from opiates or alcohol will utilize methadone to keep them stable throughout the detox process and many believe it will ultimately stop their substance abuse entirely, but by and large, this is not the case.