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'Sharks circling' former addicts, FG says
[Posted: Wed 17/10/2007 - www.irishhealth.com]
All parties in the current dispute over state payments pharmacies had taken legal advice on their stance, the Minster for Health said today.Mary Harney told the Dail that she regretted the pharmacists’ refusal to continue distributing methadone to former drug addicts. “I call on them to withdraw their action for ethical and medical reasons,” the Minister said.
She said the government, the Health Service Executive and the Irish Pharmaceutical Union had all consulted lawyers. The Minister indicated there would be more discussions on the stand-off. “I hope we can reach agreement on some of these issues,” she said.
Ms Harney said Ireland was in the mid-range in the European Union for purchase cost of drugs, but when it came to payment for retail “we are the highest in Europe”.
On Monday 140 members of the IPU stopped distributing methadone because of their dispute over payments. The IPU says many pharmacies will not be sustainable if the HSE slashes the amount it pays them to distribute medical card drugs.
Fine Gael spokesman on health, Dr James Reilly, said the HSE’s contingency plan of providing methadone at selected centres was causing more problems. “In north Dublin there is just one venue, on a peninsula, for the entire area. It is inaccessible from a transport perspective.
“Drug dealers are circling like sharks with people corralled into one location,” he said.
Dr Reilly said both the IPU and the HSE should undo their recent actions and an impact assessment statement of the change in payments be done.
Ms Harney said the various methadone locations was not as good as pharmacy dispensing, but that her feedback on the measures so far was ‘positive’.
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hammer Posted:
17/10/2007 15:57 |
| "her feedback on the measures so far was positive" - great, the HSE can look after the methadone distribution from now on so. |
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Kieran(klong) Posted:
17/10/2007 22:33 |
| If the HSE will not negotiate with pharmacists and GPs on fees in the medical system, claiming it is illegal and anti-competive, what will happen the Medical Card scheme? Will this be abolished? If so will all the "administrators" involved in this be made redundant? Very interesting times ahead. |
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hammer Posted:
18/10/2007 11:00 |
| gms scheme will probably be abolished and patients / customers will have to pay for their medicine. |
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Anonymous
Posted:
18/10/2007 17:51 |
| Good move . Heroin should be used to treat heroin addicts methadone isnt the answer . |
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Billybob Posted:
18/10/2007 23:56 |
| Anonymous Posted: 18/10/2007 17:51 "heroin should be use to treat heroin addicts" So should ecstasy be used to treat ecstasy addicts? cocaine use to treat coke addicts? marijuana used to treat weed addicts? alcochol used to treat alcholics? if so, i'd take up the habit myself just to get it "prescribed" to me. would certainly make it affordable. so please forgive me for laughing out loud. |
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Anonymous
Posted:
19/10/2007 09:53 |
| This is an absolute disgrace, pharmacists are victimising the most vulnerable. |
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Anonymous
Posted:
19/10/2007 16:11 |
| Billy bob Laugh as loud as you like ! Methadone doesn't work-addicts sell their prescriptions to buy heroin . Methadone is more expensive . Its a complete waste of tax payers money ! In an ideal world illegal drugs should be made legal . Prohibition doesn't work . |
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Anonymous
Posted:
21/10/2007 23:45 |
| I was listening to the radio last week I couldn't believe when most of the Methadone users were asked how long they were on the Methadone program most of them ranged between 8 to 11 years. I thought the idea was to get them off heroin. Surely 11 years on Methadone is unreal they are now addicted to the Methadone instead of Heroin, its unbelievable. What a waste of money. |
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Anonymous
Posted:
22/10/2007 09:55 |
| If methadone doesn't work who on earth would they be selling their prescriptions to? As for making heroin legal, anyone who has seen the damage it does would know you're out of your mind! |
|
Anonymous
Posted:
22/10/2007 15:17 |
| The drug war is lost . Fact . The drug barons make billions of pounds tax free each year . We now have have turf-wars in our communities . Gangsters with guns fighting each other . Innocent people are being killed when they are caught up in the cross fire . We have overcrouded gaols, dealers and addicts fill the cells . Drugs are contaminated with dirt i.e. brick-dust and dog poo. Prohibition hasn't worked . Illegal drugs are killing our kids . Where do we go from here ? If illegal drugs were made legal the tax payers' money could go to better use and more importantly pure supplies of heroin will help prevent death . |
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Anonymous
Posted:
22/10/2007 15:25 |
| Methadone is sold to methadone addicts . It is not legal as far as I am aware to give free methadone to those who are not being treated for heroin addiction . Hence the heroin addicts selling their supply of methadone onto methadone addicts inorder to purchase their heroin . Ridiculous ! They should be prescribed heroin and if they want to withdraw from the drug it would be a very real possibility . Methadone is helping to keep heroin addicts in their personal hell of addiction to heroin . |
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