Pubdate: Mon, 05 Sep 2005
Source: Herald, The (UK)
Copyright: 2005 The Herald
Contact:  http://www.theherald.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/189
Author: Tom Gordon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)

DRUGS DEATH 'HOVERS OVER TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE'

Ministers will fail to meet their targets for cutting drug deaths if
they continue to rely on "harm reduction" and methadone rather than
abstinence, a leading expert on drug abuse warns today.

Writing for The Herald, Neil McKeganey, professor of drug misuse
research at Glasgow University, said the breadth of the drugs problem
meant death was now "hovering on the shoulder of tens of thousands of
young people".

Based on current practice, which involves prescribing methadone to a
third of addicts, Professor McKeganey says there is "simply no way"
ministers will be able to cut deaths by a quarter. "In much of our
thinking about the drug problem in Scotland, we have set the bar of
aspiration too low."

The registrar general has reported 356 overdose deaths last year, 80
of which included methadone as a factor, against a total of 317 the
previous year.

The Scottish Executive said increased use of methadone reflected more
people receiving treatment. "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."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin