Pubdate: Tue, 04 Apr 2000
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2000 The Sydney Morning Herald
Contact:  GPO Box 3771, Sydney NSW 2001
Fax: +61-(0)2-9282 3492
Website: http://www.smh.com.au/
Forum: http://forums.fairfax.com.au/
Author: David Humphries, State Political Editor

NO URINE TESTS, NO METHADONE, ADDICTS TOLD

Methadone patients will need to sign good-behaviour contracts, including 
binding themselves to random urine testing, to continue on the anti-heroin 
addiction program.

The new deal is part of the State Government's undertaking to implement 
last year's Drug Summit recommendation for an expanded methadone program, 
shifting from the traditional bigger dispensing clinics to local 
pharmacies. Already, 300 pharmacies are involved in the NSW program.

The contract system is also a response to residential anger at the 
behaviour of methadone users around suburban clinics.

"Methadone is a privilege and if people want access to it, the program is 
going to have to be more tightly run," a Government source said yesterday.

Under the contracts, addicts must promise not to congregate around clinics, 
not to inject drugs, to participate in urine testing and to swallow 
methadone at the dispensing point unless granted special permission for 
takeaway doses.

"The contracts will address concerns from the broader community about 
antisocial behaviour at methadone dispensing clinics," the Special Minister 
of State, Mr Della Bosca, said yesterday.

He said the contracts, to be implemented over the next eight weeks, were 
part of a $93 million four-year expansion of funding for drug treatment 
services.

Mr Della Bosca said failure to comply with contracts, which also committed 
dispensers to professional standards, could lead to addicts being forced 
from the program.

He said the scheme was intended to overcome the "honeypot effect" of large 
dispensing clinics and to ensure that those on the program did not persist 
with intravenous drug use.

Mr Della Bosca called on the Federal Government to speed up approval for 
the heroin treatment therapy, Buprenorphine.

This follows the Federal Government's rejection of the controversial 
naltrexone from listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, thereby 
precluding its widespread use for heroin treatment.

But Mr Della Bosca said Buprenorphine had been shown in testing to be more 
effective than both methadone and naltrexone.

He said the opioid analgesic, being tested in NSW, did not have the 
overdose risk of naltrexone, was taken in tablet form every second day, was 
used on 50,000 French addicts, retained 87 per cent of patients in 
treatment, and could be used to withdraw from methadone as well as heroin.

Mr Della Bosca said it was understood the Therapeutic Goods Administration 
was planning to consider Buprenorphine's registration in June but that this 
might put off a final Commonwealth decision until next February.

"In the meantime, doctors across the country could be using it to help save 
lives," he said.

Anti-drugs campaigner Mr Tony Trimmingham said the contracts scheme for 
methadone users threatened to destablise people already in fragile conditions.

The Opposition Leader, Mrs Chikarovski, said no contracts system would work 
unless it required a commitment by people on the program to ultimately get 
off methadone.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D