[1][2][3] In addition to being used as a pharmaceutical drug itself, levomethadone is the main therapeutic component of methadone.

[2] Levomethadone is used for narcotic maintenance in place of, or in some cases alongside as an alternative, to racemic methadone,[4] owing to concern about the cardiotoxic and QT-prolonging action of racemic methadone being primarily caused by the dextrorotatory enantiomer, dextromethadone.

[5][4] Levomethadone has approximately 50x the potency of the S-(+)-enantiomer as well as greater μ-opioid receptor selectivity.

[13] It involves "treatment of racemic methadone base with d-(+)-tartaric acid in an acetone/water mixture [which] precipitates almost solely the dextro-methadone levo-tartrate, and the more potent Levomethadone can easily be retrieved from the mother liquor in a high state of optical purity.

[3][2] Levomethadone has been sold under brand names including L-Polaflux, L-Polamidon, L-Polamivet, Levadone, Levo-Methasan, Levothyl, Mevodict, Levopidon and Vistadict, among others.