Pubdate: Wed, 13 Jan 2010
Source: Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, CN NK)
Copyright: 2010 Brunswick News Inc.
Contact: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/onsite.php?page=contact
Website: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2878
Page: A3
Author: Adam Huras

METHADONE SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE, SAYS OFFICIAL

Safeguards are in place to prevent take-home doses of methadone from 
getting into the wrong hands, according to the New Brunswick 
Pharmaceutical Society.

But pharmacy protocols, which include instructing clients to keep 
methadone in a locked box, appear not to have been followed in the 
case of a 23-month-old girl from southeastern New Brunswick who was 
transferred to a Halifax hospital after ingesting the drug.

"If clients are receiving take-home doses they are to present at the 
pharmacy with a lock box," Gary Meek, assistant registrar of the New 
Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society, said in an interview. "It's to 
prevent exactly this kind of thing from happening."

There was no change in the status of a Havelock child on Tuesday, who 
remains in critical condition at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

Paramedics and the Caledonia RCMP responded to a 9-1-1 call on Friday 
that the little girl had ingested methadone.

The drug is used to treat people with addictions to opiate drugs such 
as heroin and morphine. It also can be prescribed for pain management.

The RCMP is investigating to determine exactly what took place. Two 
people were arrested and later released, but no charges have been laid.

Meek said the practice of allowing clients to administer methadone 
treatments at home is appropriate.

"It is appropriate to allow take home doses from a pharmacy rather 
than having all administration observed in the pharmacy itself or in 
a clinic," he said. "But there needs to be safeguards.

"We have our own standards that pharmacies are to follow."

Meek said those standards include ensuring all clients have a locked 
box to store the drug in at home.

"It should also be kept in a relatively high cupboard or cabinet or 
potentially a cabinet that could be locked," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart