“What medicines are administered to treat drug addiction?”

Drug addiction is more than one thing; it's several things depending upon which drug we're talking about. And are you asking about detox (safely stopping ongoing use of a drug) or maintenance, preventing relapse?

Detox is a complicated subject. The drugs that typically require a detox treatment protocol are alcohol, sedatives like Xanax, and opioids like pain killers and heroin. Marijuana, cocaine, and meth don't require a medical detox, although you'll feel lousy for the first week or two after stopping them.

Medications to help prevent relapse are useful in patients who abuse alcohol or opioids. For alcohol, naltrexone is often used, both pills and the once-a-month injection Vivitrol. For opioids, there are three choices called "Medication Assisted Treatment." They are Suboxone, Vivitrol, and methadone maintenance in a federally licensed methadone clinic. Suboxone and Vivitrol can be prescribed by a primary care physician. Campral (generic name acamprosate) has some evidence of effectiveness in alcoholics, but I'm not convinced it's useful. Antabuse for alcohol is proven useless and should not be prescribed except in very rare cases.

Some of the medications that are given are ones that mask the symptoms of withdrawal. Others are blockers so if the person relapses, they won't get impaired. Some medicines will make the person sick if they relapse like Antabuse for alcohol. Still others, like methadone, are in the same class of drug as the person was using off the street. Really, the answer depends on which type of addiction you are attempting to treat. I hope this helps!