Stricter controls are planned in Scotland on the dispensing of methadone to drug addicts. They could lead to all community pharmacies having to introduce a supervised system of supply.
The Scottish Executive's deputy justice minister (Angus MacKay) announced the move during a day long Scottish Parliament debate on drug policy on January 20. He has written to every health board in Scotland asking for details of their methadone supply policy.
The Minister is particularly concerned about how the drug substitute is dispensed at weekends and holiday periods.
There are fears that too much methadone is being given to addicts to take away which is increasing the risk of it falling into the wrong hands. This problem was highlighted at Christmas when a 15-year-old girl died after taking methadone belonging to her boyfriend's brother. The brother had been given extra supplies over the holiday period.
Many Scottish pharmacies already follow a system where the methadone is taken on the premises in the presence of the pharmacist.
Mr George Romanes (chairman, Scottish General Pharmaceutical Council) told The Journal on January 24 that some health boards have prescribing policies that allow methadone to be taken out of the pharmacy and used at home.
Welcoming the Scottish Executive's plan for stricter controls he said: "We are very supportive of methadone supervision and believe that is the model that should be followed. However, one of the problems with supervision it that it is not negotiated centrally and it is up to each primary care trust to negotiate with local contractors."
Mr George Allan (chairman of the Scottish Pharmaceutical Federation) said that dispensing methadone on a daily, supervised basis was one solution but that there would be costs involved in having pharmacists on duty every day of the year. Many pharmacies would also have to be adapted to provide private areas for dispensing methadone. He suggested instead that community pharmacists be involved in wider discussions with drug agencies and prescribers in drawing up an effective detoxification programme.
During the debate, Dr Richard Simpson (Lab, Ochil) praised the contribution of community pharmacists in dispensing methadone. He said: "They do a very good job for us in relation to the dispensing of methadone at very little cost.
However, he added that supervision was vital to prevent methadone leaving the pharmacy, saying: "We have to try to ensure that best practice is followed across the country."