Inside health: Death toll casts new doubts on methadone

Published on Tuesday 19 August 2008 22:15

SCOTLAND'S record on drug-related deaths does not paint a pretty picture.

Recent figures show there were 455 recorded last year – more than double the 1997 figure and 8 per cent more than in 2006.

But concealed within the figures, published by the General Register Office for Scotland, was perhaps another worrying trend starting to appear.

Closer inspection of the statistics reveals that in the Lothian region, deaths linked to the heroin substitute methadone now outnumber those linked to the drug itself.

In 2007 there were 22 deaths involving methadone in Lothian – compared to 20 linked to heroin or morphine.

It is the only area in Scotland where methadone deaths exceed those linked to heroin.

For example, in Greater Glasgow and Clyde there were 109 deaths involving heroin, compared to 47 with methadone. In Grampian, there were 34 heroin deaths but just eight linked to methadone.

So why does Lothian stand out in this regard? It is certainly something many believe requires further investigation.

One drugs expert said: "It is a very worrying result to be seeing.

"What these figures tell us is that this is definitely something that we need to look at more closely to discover why this is happening.

"But it is impossible on the basis of these figures alone to say why this should be the case in Lothian."

Scotland's methadone programme has proven controversial in recent years.

About 22,000 addicts are prescribed methadone north of the Border, many of whom have been on the heroin substitute for years.

It has been claimed that it does not help many addicts to stop using drugs as they maintain a high dose of methadone rather than gradually decreasing the amount they take.

Studies have shown that the majority of addicts continue to take methadone or use illegal drugs even after taking part in programmes designed to remove them from both.

Earlier this year ministers announced a shift in Scotland's drugs policy, with more money to be spent on rehabilitation and abstinence programmes rather than "parking" addicts on methadone.

The latest worrying number of methadone-related deaths in Lothian will further fuel questions about Scotland's drugs problem. But could a shift from methadone simply mean more deaths linked to heroin?