Methadone in the news

Two recent stories on methadone. First, researchers may have identified a genetic marker that indicates the person's drug metabolism. They believe that these finding could be important in determining dosing for methadone. Second, a story about prison-based methadone programs.

The needle and the damage done

This 2 year old article about the disciplinary of some British methadone maintenance physicians has been making the rounds today. It has a pretty clear bias for maintenance, but it offers quite a bit of history about the British opiate addiction treatment. It also illustrates how committed the British system has been to methadone. The whole debate is between methadone detox and methadone maintenance.

As the story of these doctors progresses, it includes drugs (obviously), Madonna, Hollywood and martial arts--what more could you want?

Three of the doctors involved were found guilty of misconduct and one was stripped of his license.

Cold turkey plan for Scots addicts

The Labour Party in Scotland is rolling out a new drug policy. I've posted several times about their treatment system, which pushes methadone and successfully detoxes very few people.

The new policy has a couple of good points, including abstinence based treatment and accountability for reducing wait times:

One senior Labour figure said: "Our view is that there is a place for methadone but it should not be about people being parked on it and then left for years. There has to be an aim of getting them drug-free. Yes, we will help them but they have got a responsibility. People have just thought up till now that they have a right to methadone and that's it."

The insider added: "We feel very strongly that this agenda has been run by a fairly narrow range of people and not enough attention is being paid to people and their families. It is time to shift the balance away from them".

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson is understood to be furious over the lengthy wait addicts are being forced to endure in order to get into rehabilitation, and is now pressing Health Minister Andy Kerr to put pressure on health boards.

It also has some points that are less recovery focused, including searching prison visitors and having addicts talk to kids about drug use.

Methadone Substitute: New And Cheaper Way To Treat Heroin Addiction

A cheaper and safer alternative to methadone. How does it compare to buprenorphine?

In contrast to methadone --which comes in liquid not tablet form -- dihydrocodeine is much easier to store and comes under less stringent regulations because it is not as toxic and less likely to cause a fatal overdose. It is estimated that whereas methadone treatment can cost almost £1,500 annually per patient, the cost of dihydrocodeine is £713.