Pubdate: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2007 Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 Author: Nikki Harris and Andrew Hannon Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) METHADONE SUBSTITUTE UNAVAILABLE A highly regarded method for getting junkies off heroin is hardly being used in Canada, despite being approved by the federal government two years ago. Buprenorphine -- known by the brand name Subutex -- was given the green light by Health Canada in 2005, but its manufacturer, British-based Reckitt Benckiser, has not put it on the Canadian market. It's only available if a doctor applies to the feds for special access. That frustrates Marliss Howard, program director of Streetworks, which runs Edmonton's needle exchange program. "Absolutely, we need to consider it and try it," she said. "The more options people have, the better." Buprenorphine, or "bupe," is prescribed by a doctor, just like methadone, to addicts trying to get off heroin. But unlike methadone, which gets users just as high as heroin, it gives a much milder "buzz" while still eliminating cravings. And if you try to get higher by using heroin as well, it actually induces withdrawal symptoms. "(Methadone) is still an addiction. But a legal addiction," said Judy, a recovering addict. Judy started methadone treatment in Edmonton in 1999, after using heroin for "years and years," and though it helped her get clean, she said she didn't care for it. "People get a buzz off of it," she said. University of Alberta pharmacologist Dr. David Cook, an addiction expert, said that ideally, methadone and bupe would be available to addicts trying to get off heroin. A spokesman for Reckitt Benckiser could not be reached. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek