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Fury at 17-Per Cent Rise in Addicts Receiving Heroin Substitute Methadone Treatment Bill Hits GBP11.6 Ma Year After 400,000 Prescriptions Are Handed Out

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 12:00 CDT

AN increasing number of drug addicts are being left "to swim in a sea of methadone dependency", it was claimed today.

Scottish Tories uncovered Executive figures revealing a 17-per cent increase in prescriptions of the drug in two years.

The data shows that in 2002 16,401 drug addicts were being prescribed methadone, but by last year the figure had risen to 19,227.

Greater Glasgow NHS area has the highest number of individuals being given the heroin substitute, with 6623 addicts receiving the treatment last year.

The Tories claim the annual bill, excluding clinical costs, was GBP11.6million.

Glasgow MSP Bill Aitken said that in 1997, there were 168,000 prescriptions of methadone handed out. By 2004, this had soared to nearly 400,000.

Mr Aitken said: "Make no mistake. Methadone is an addictive substance that is merely a substitute for heroin, not a cure.

"As a country, we are consigning more and more addicts to swim in a sea of methadone dependency, a publicly-funded drug action programme.

"Every pound spent on this so-called harm reduction route is a pound not spent on rehabilitation and the real fight against drugs.

"It is beyond time for a new approach."

The Tories favour a zerotolerance approach to drug use and moves such as reclassifying cannabis from a class C drug to class B.

They also want rehabilitation programmes that lead to more abstinence, rather than methadone dependency; making Drug Treatment and Testing Orders available to offenders coming before the District Courts and Children's Panel; and drug dealers to appear in the Sheriff Court with sentences of up to five years.

The Executive attributed the increase in the number of people receiving methadone to more drug misusers getting access to treatment.

A spokesman said: "Methadone is not a solution to drug addiction, but it allows people to stabilise their lives enough to think about the next stage in the journey away from drugs and towards a much more positive life.

"It is high time we ended the unhelpful obsession in trying to prove whether abstinence or harm reduction strategies are best.

"The most effective treatment will always depend on the circumstances of the individual addict - there is no one-size-all solution."

brian. currie@eveningtimes. co. uk

Source: Evening Times; Glasgow (UK)

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