Pubdate: Wed, 15 Apr 2015
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Helen Branswell
Page: A8

PRESCRIBE HEROIN TO ADDICTS WHO CAN'T KICK HABIT: PROF

An addictions expert at the University of B.C. is renewing the
argument for prescribing heroin to addicts who have tried and failed
to kick their habits.

Dr. Martin Schechter says there is a small subset of heroin addicts
who have tried to quit but cannot succeed using traditional methods
such as detox programs or methadone treatment. Schechter says giving
these people access to heroin in treatment, rather than leaving them
to find it on the street, is better for them and for society.

He says if they remain untreated they may end up contracting HIV or
other diseases from sharing needles.

They are often in and out of hospital emergency rooms and sometimes
resort to sex work or crime to raise money for drugs.

Schechter says six randomized controlled trials in Europe and Canada
have shown that heroin-assisted treatment is more effective for this
group of addicts than conventional therapies.

But he says political opposition to the idea of giving addicts drugs
prevents doctors from treating people in this manner.

"The real problem is not that we don't know what to do, because the
science is very clear about the benefits for this particular
sub-population (of addicts). The problem is political," says
Schechter, a professor in UBC's school of population and public health.

Schechter's commentary is published in the medical journal BMJ, which
asked him to write an article addressing the issue.

Schechter was the principal investigator of a trial conducted in B.C.,
which randomly assigned persistent addicts to receive either
prescribed heroin or standard treatment. That trial found those on
prescribed heroin used fewer illicit drugs and were involved in less
crime.
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