Lofexidine, sold under the brand name Lucemyra among others,[1] is a medication historically used to treat high blood pressure; today, it is more commonly used to help with the physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

[4] In the United States, the brand name Lucemyra (lofexidine HCl) is approved for the "mitigation of withdrawal symptoms to facilitate abrupt discontinuation of opioids in adults," for a treatment duration of 14 days.

[1] In the United Kingdom, lofexidine is commonly used in conjunction with the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone in rapid detoxification cases.

When these two drugs are paired, naltrexone is administered to induce an opioid receptor blockade, sending the subject into immediate withdrawal and accelerating the detoxification process, while lofexidine is given to relieve the symptoms associated with the withdrawal including chills, sweating, stomach cramps, muscle pain, and runny nose.

[citation needed] The United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend the use of methadone or buprenorphine as first-line agents in the management of opioid use disorder.

However, lofexidine is considered an acceptable alternative for people with mild or uncertain opioid dependence in need of short-term detoxification.

It is expected that an overdose of lofexidine would result in symptoms akin to its pharmacological side effects in humans, such as bradycardia and hypotension.

[10] Lofexidine is structurally analogous to clonidine, another α2 adrenergic receptor agonist used for treatment of opioid withdrawal symptoms.

In addition to the structural differences, administration of lofexidine to people who abuse opioids has been shown to be more effective for a longer duration, with fewer withdrawal symptoms than clonidine even after one day.

This factor is exacerbated by the considerable number of and quantities of medications prescribed to alleviate the constellation of withdrawal signs and symptoms.

[citation needed] Britannia Pharmaceuticals has licensed lofexidine to be sold by US WorldMeds for sale in North America.