Dr LIM - 1995-02-23
As the minister would be aware, the Territory opposition last year publicly endorsed the introduction of a Northern Territory methadone program. At the time, the Leader of the Opposition demanded to know what medical evidence the minister had in support of the
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government's policy of opposition to a methadone program. I ask the minister to outline any additional information he may have in support of the government's policy.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, members on this side have much more interest in matters of importance to Territorians and bringing the opposition to account for its policies so that Territorians can judge them for what they are. The Leader of the Opposition queried the government's policy on methadone programs. In fact, our policy is not to have a methadone program in the Northern Territory. He queried that at the November/December sittings last year and asked if methadone abuse and the reasons for the government's policy could be substantiated.
I do not know whether the Leader of the Opposition and his previous health spokesman, the member for Barkly, and the current spokesman, the member for MacDonnell, saw the Current Affair program last Monday night. If they did, it would have told them a very telling tale about methadone programs, the problems that are being experienced with them and why we do not have one in the Northern Territory. If members opposite had seen the parents of the 21-year-old who died as a result of black market methadone, paid for in the first instance by the taxpayer and obtained from methadone clinics that are supported by the taxpayer, they might have thought again. The ease of access ...
Mr Ede: What! Is this the scientific basis of government policy?
Mr REED: ... to methadone programs is the very issue that I have been bringing to the attention of members opposite. Notwithstanding that the Leader of the Opposition believes that we should have a methadone policy, he does not want to listen to the facts. That has been his problem all along. He is not prepared to listen to the alternative view.
There is extensive abuse of the program. Methadone that sold for some $7.50 in the clinics is selling on the streets outside the clinics for $80 or $90. There is enormous abuse of the program. There are about 40 clinics privately operated in Sydney and those clinics - at least one of them was portrayed in the program this week - are making a profit of $900 000 a year. Perhaps that tells us what some of the problems are because obviously the clinics are more profit-motivated than drug-motivated. It was also interesting to note that the presenter of the program was of the mistaken belief that the aim of the methadone program is to wean people from their heroin habit when in fact that is not the case. That is what the public believes, but it is a maintenance program.
In support of this government's opposition to the methadone programs, I refer honourable members to the British medical journal, The Lancet, which has some very disturbing information that I bring to their attention. This information was provided to me by a doctor in response to the Current Affair program earlier this week. He faxed this information to me to illustrate clearly what the circumstances are and that methadone programs are now becoming questionable at best. 349 people died of methadone overdose between 1982 and 1991 in Britain compared to 243 heroin addicts - that is, the fatalities from methadone are higher now than those from the heroin that it was supposed to be replacing. The death rate caused by heroin in the UK is now estimated at 1 in 2582 drug users while the corresponding death rate from methadone, which is supposed to be helping them according to the Leader of
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the Opposition, is 1 in 134 users. Much of the methadone is provided by the government. There are other problems and I quote from the article in The Lancet:
Police surgeons in London find the prescribing of methadone syrup by London's doctors is ineffective in stopping illicit drug use and, worse, the methadone
is sold on. Furthermore, methadone produces disturbances of weight, sweating, sleep and dysphoria in addition to greater numbers of fatalities. Given the
dangers of methadone and its apparent ineffectiveness, perhaps the current vogue for methadone in the management of addiction should be reviewed.
For the benefit of honourable members, I table a copy of the article from The Lancet. I hope that members opposite will read it. I look forward to the member for Barkly's report to this House. At the last sittings, she undertook to visit methadone clinics while she was interstate and to report to this Assembly in support of the opposition's policy of introducing methadone programs to the Northern Territory.
I draw attention also to the fact that, since a particular doctor in Darwin, who was prescribing methadone beyond his capacity last year, has had his ability to prescribe schedule 8 drugs removed, there has been a marked decrease in the number of heroin addicts in the Northern Territory. They have left because they have no methadone program, so to speak, to support them.
Mr Ede: What do you base that on?
Mr Reed: Mr Speaker, I base it on the phone calls to my office from the addicts, who had access to methadone from that particular doctor, asking why we closed him down. That clearly illustrates to me that he was very much a supplier as opposed to a medical prescriber. That should be a matter of great concern and further illustrates the problems of the misuse of methadone programs. I look forward to the honourable member for Barkly's report on what she found out on her holidays. Given the article in The Lancet, I wonder whether the opposition will review its current stance.
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government's policy of opposition to a methadone program. I ask the minister to outline any additional information he may have in support of the government's policy.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, members on this side have much more interest in matters of importance to Territorians and bringing the opposition to account for its policies so that Territorians can judge them for what they are. The Leader of the Opposition queried the government's policy on methadone programs. In fact, our policy is not to have a methadone program in the Northern Territory. He queried that at the November/December sittings last year and asked if methadone abuse and the reasons for the government's policy could be substantiated.
I do not know whether the Leader of the Opposition and his previous health spokesman, the member for Barkly, and the current spokesman, the member for MacDonnell, saw the Current Affair program last Monday night. If they did, it would have told them a very telling tale about methadone programs, the problems that are being experienced with them and why we do not have one in the Northern Territory. If members opposite had seen the parents of the 21-year-old who died as a result of black market methadone, paid for in the first instance by the taxpayer and obtained from methadone clinics that are supported by the taxpayer, they might have thought again. The ease of access ...
Mr Ede: What! Is this the scientific basis of government policy?
Mr REED: ... to methadone programs is the very issue that I have been bringing to the attention of members opposite. Notwithstanding that the Leader of the Opposition believes that we should have a methadone policy, he does not want to listen to the facts. That has been his problem all along. He is not prepared to listen to the alternative view.
There is extensive abuse of the program. Methadone that sold for some $7.50 in the clinics is selling on the streets outside the clinics for $80 or $90. There is enormous abuse of the program. There are about 40 clinics privately operated in Sydney and those clinics - at least one of them was portrayed in the program this week - are making a profit of $900 000 a year. Perhaps that tells us what some of the problems are because obviously the clinics are more profit-motivated than drug-motivated. It was also interesting to note that the presenter of the program was of the mistaken belief that the aim of the methadone program is to wean people from their heroin habit when in fact that is not the case. That is what the public believes, but it is a maintenance program.
In support of this government's opposition to the methadone programs, I refer honourable members to the British medical journal, The Lancet, which has some very disturbing information that I bring to their attention. This information was provided to me by a doctor in response to the Current Affair program earlier this week. He faxed this information to me to illustrate clearly what the circumstances are and that methadone programs are now becoming questionable at best. 349 people died of methadone overdose between 1982 and 1991 in Britain compared to 243 heroin addicts - that is, the fatalities from methadone are higher now than those from the heroin that it was supposed to be replacing. The death rate caused by heroin in the UK is now estimated at 1 in 2582 drug users while the corresponding death rate from methadone, which is supposed to be helping them according to the Leader of
Page 440
the Opposition, is 1 in 134 users. Much of the methadone is provided by the government. There are other problems and I quote from the article in The Lancet:
Police surgeons in London find the prescribing of methadone syrup by London's doctors is ineffective in stopping illicit drug use and, worse, the methadone
is sold on. Furthermore, methadone produces disturbances of weight, sweating, sleep and dysphoria in addition to greater numbers of fatalities. Given the
dangers of methadone and its apparent ineffectiveness, perhaps the current vogue for methadone in the management of addiction should be reviewed.
For the benefit of honourable members, I table a copy of the article from The Lancet. I hope that members opposite will read it. I look forward to the member for Barkly's report to this House. At the last sittings, she undertook to visit methadone clinics while she was interstate and to report to this Assembly in support of the opposition's policy of introducing methadone programs to the Northern Territory.
I draw attention also to the fact that, since a particular doctor in Darwin, who was prescribing methadone beyond his capacity last year, has had his ability to prescribe schedule 8 drugs removed, there has been a marked decrease in the number of heroin addicts in the Northern Territory. They have left because they have no methadone program, so to speak, to support them.
Mr Ede: What do you base that on?
Mr Reed: Mr Speaker, I base it on the phone calls to my office from the addicts, who had access to methadone from that particular doctor, asking why we closed him down. That clearly illustrates to me that he was very much a supplier as opposed to a medical prescriber. That should be a matter of great concern and further illustrates the problems of the misuse of methadone programs. I look forward to the honourable member for Barkly's report on what she found out on her holidays. Given the article in The Lancet, I wonder whether the opposition will review its current stance.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016