Rapid opioid detoxification procedures are provided which include sedating a patient with an anesthetic agent having a short full recovery period. The patient is administered an opioid antagonist while sedated and can be revived to an ambulatory condition within eight hours of initiating therapy. The described methods for detoxification also include administering a diarrhea suppressant, such as octreotide acetate, to limit this unfortunate side effect of the detoxification.
