Pubdate: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Copyright: 2014 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 POSITIVE NEWS ON METHADONE The doubling of the number of methadone users in Saskatchewan over the past five years is as much a good news story as it is one that reflects the problems associated with an economic boom and Canada's lax approach to monitoring the prescribing of opioids. Certainly, it's a positive sign when the number of addicts seeking help to overcome their dependence on everything from heroin and morphine to prescription drugs such as Oxycodone rose to about 2,900 last year from 1,400 in 2008. Yet, the higher numbers also likely reflect the fact that there simply are more people across the province today who are using and abusing opioid drugs, partly as a result of having the wherewithal to obtain them illegally and also because doctors in Saskatchewan, like their colleagues elsewhere across Canada, are writing more prescriptions for opioids. As a story in The StarPhoenix reports today, the number of opioid prescriptions submitted to the Saskatchewan Drug Plan increased to 300,000 in 2013 from about 200,000 in 2005. As Dr. David Juurlink, head of the division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto, points out in a column written for Troy Media, "We now face a public health crisis of exceptional scale - an epidemic fuelled by well-meaning doctors, expectant patients and corporate interests, and perpetuated by government inertia." A response in Saskatchewan to the growing problem with opiate addictions has been to remove the cap that was in place on the number of people who could use methadone. Today, 86 doctors are licensed to prescribe methadone throughout Saskatchewan, with clinics in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Kamsack where prescribing, dispensing and counselling services are provided. North Battleford and Yorkton have been identified as other sites that need more comprehensive treatment options. As recently as July 2012, a major stumbling block to providing methadone treatment was not just the lack of qualified doctors, but also a dearth of addictions counsellors to work with those who want to wean themselves off morphine, heroin and other drugs by using methadone. In Saskatoon, only those who were HIV-positive or pregnant were being admitted to the program in the interest of harm-reduction. As Dr. Morris Markentin, who is now medical manager of the methadone program for the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons, said in 2012, "It's not just writing a prescription and sending the person out the door. "If you don't offer a full package and just want to prescribe methadone, then we might as well put it in vending machines in the street. They are using (drugs) because they have underlying issues, and if you don't deal with the underlying issues, you can't help." He is still calling for a more comprehensive approach to treating additions, including more rehab beds in medical facilities, more access to counselling and life skills training. The removal of the cap on the number of methadone recipients alone won't solve the problem, but it's a start to addressing an issue that extends to everything from crime rates to the number of HIV infections to family dysfunction. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D