Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

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Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby Kintyre Forum News » Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:31 pm

Interesting debate being highlighted recently in the Campbeltown Courier with regards the proposals for a Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown and the opposition from the local GPs and Community Council etc

What are your views? Young lady was on the front page of the Courier last week suggesting if there had been one here in Campbeltown it could have helped her quicker but instead she had to go to Rothesay for help.

A methadone clinic is a clinic which has been established for the dispensing of methadone (Dolophine), a schedule II narcotic analgesic, to those who abuse heroin and other opiates. The focus of these clinics is the elimination or reduction of opiate usage by putting the patient on methadone. Some clinics also offer short- or long-term detoxification services to their patients using methadone. A common term for the type of treatment at a Methadone Clinic is "Replacement Therapy". While generally considered successful as a treatment method, the use of this maintenance treatment is often viewed as controversial. Methadone is considered a very helpful drug for people that use the drug the way it is prescribed.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby EileenH » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:17 am

I dont think that users would travel to Campbeltown to use this facility. It's the same situation as the girl from the town having to go to Rothesay. No one is willing to travel down the road unless they're from the town. Take Ronachan house, it closed because not enough people were using it. I had a member of my family who was a user. He went on the methadone programme but also used drugs at the same time. I know it works for some people but a lot of users abuse the programme. Good for this girl who managed to beat her addiction but I don't think there is a big enough drug problem here to merit having a methadone clinic in the town. This is just my opinion, maybe mine is in the minority.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby ultraviolet » Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:14 pm

I've always been under the impression the facility would be aimed at anyone locally who wishes to try and beat their addiction? As opposed to trying to attract addicts down the road? I'm not too bothered to be honest and if people need help then its surely to get it with the comfort of your home close by and the support of your family on hand?
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby D.H » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:10 pm

I think the phrase 'clinic' is a bit misleading as I understand it is just that Doctors would be required to offer the prescription for the addict as they would offer medicine to any other patient in need. This is standard everywhere else in Scotland. You can't ignore that people have ended up on serious drugs (often due to family bereavement and not coping with life) and that if people want to get better for themselves, their family, and their community surely it is better to support them rather than make it harder for them to get off the drugs? I am not sure how the Doctors can opt out of treating their patients currently?
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby francii » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:22 pm

If, as someone has pointed out already, it's just a case of the doctors handing out prescriptions then I don't see how it will work. Surely there has to also be some sort of framework of support for addicts in order to ensure that they are not abusing the system and continuing to use heroin whilst collecting their methadone prescription? Am I wrong in thinking that in some places the addicts take their methadone in the presence of a doctor or pharmacist at an allotted time each day? I confess to not knowing much of the specifics of this treatment.

As for the whole 'bringing addicts into the town' thing, well I think a previous poster made a good point when they said that people don't come down to the town unless they're from here. However I do have to wonder, if there are a significant number of addicts in the surrounding towns, wouldn't it be easier for them to come down here than across to Rothesay? I can understand the concern that crime rates would raise. However, if a significant number of people could be weaned off of heroin and get their lives back on track surely in the long run this would be beneficial for crime rates and increase the number of properly functioning members of society? I would like to believe that the majority of those who request methadone treatment have recognised that they have got themselves into a terrible situation/mess and genuinely want to recover and lead a stable, happy life. These people should get the help that they need. Obviously it's not easy to tell who's genuine and who's not but that's always going to be the case.

Basically I suppose I'm on the fence, I can see pros and cons, but I'm definitely not opposed to the idea.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby D.H » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:54 pm

Francii there are support services here already. There are Addiction Nurses and KADAS, as well as the Pharmacists for giving the methadone. Methadone users currently get on the bus to Dumbarton two or three times a week to get their prescription from a doctor and then travel back to get the prescription from the chemist. The methadone is taken in front of someone. It does mean that these people can't hold down jobs or pick their kids up from school, etc as they are away so much.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby Ship called Dignity » Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:13 pm

That's really interesting to read, alot of the information posted on here hasn't been reported in the local press - it certainly read more like a specific clinic but then again I can be a selective reader when I want to!!
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby francii » Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:15 pm

Thanks for the info, D.H., that makes things much clearer. I was sure that the pharmacists already administered the methadone here anyway so was unsure what the real issue was. I suppose it is in the hands of the doctors then. In that case I would think it makes a lot of sense and things much simpler for the doctors here just to write the prescriptions. I wonder if the people who are opposed to it on the grounds that it will bring more addicts in to the town are aware of this or if they are just reading 'methadone clinic' as it has been portrayed in the local press? Not that I blame them, things are often ramped up through media coverage. I hope that the addicts here get all of the help the deserve in the most efficient way possible to enable them to lead happier lives.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby Swanseajock » Fri Apr 22, 2011 9:30 pm

Triffic idea, providing drugs to users at the taxpayers expence. Suppose it saves them having to pay for it themselves.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby maxmix » Fri Apr 22, 2011 9:58 pm

Swanseajock wrote:Triffic idea, providing drugs to users at the taxpayers expence. Suppose it saves them having to pay for it themselves.


Of course it is... Then the users don't need to rob to feed their daily habit... and the general crime rate drops again...

Good stuff :)

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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby francii » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:12 pm

Swanseajock wrote:Triffic idea, providing drugs to users at the taxpayers expence. Suppose it saves them having to pay for it themselves.


Of course everybody is entitled to their opinion but that's a little narrow minded don't you think? There are lots of unhappy reasons why people become hooked on drugs and it's not always a clear cut issue. Heroin is one of the most addictive, and once on it, it can be an incredibly difficult struggle to come off it again. I'm sure the majority of those who become hooked on it regret it and wish for a second chance at life. As maxmix points out, forking out to assist people through methadone treatment has a positive effect on crime statistics. It also gives the children of addicts a better chance in life, a chance for a stable family and a better future. On a larger scale, look at NRT. People go out and buy cigarettes, might not cost as much as heroin, but the government pays to 'replace' cigarettes with nicotine products and support. Must cost a fortune to provide all of that, but it impacts the health service positively. Nicotine is one of the most addicitve substances on the planet, and people choose to start smoking, yet it is completely acceptable and normal in this country to seek NRT. Heroin addicts pose a much bigger problem to society than smokers, and their lives are a far bigger mess I would garner in general than that of a smoker. I would argue that it's much more desirable to treat heroin addicts with methadone in a controlled manner, within their home community, where they will have a better chance of success supported by those who love them, and be able to become stable, happy and productive members of society. Don't forget also that these people will be on state benefits and whether they steal also to fund their addiction or not, the taxpayer is assisting in paying for their drugs anyway! I may be generalising rather a lot here, and practising a bit of idealism, but I think it's a much deeper issue than 'oh the taxpayer has to pay for these addicts'. What's the alternative?
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby Bobh » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:46 pm

Why then are some Methadone users on it for years? I thought it was a way of getting people off drugs, not keeping them on drugs and helping them 'top up'
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby francii » Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:21 pm

I couldn't tell you, Bob. Not my area of expertise. But then again they say a smoker is always a smoker, even if they don't smoke! I know myself, I've been trying to quit properly for a couple of years. I'm not trying to equate the two addictions too much, but in terms of addictiveness they're on a similar level.I would imagine coming off heroin is not a simple process but that people can have a much better quality of life being treated with methadone in a controlled way.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby EileenH » Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:47 pm

As far as I know, the methadone is supposed to have the same effect as smokers wearing nicotine patches. It is supposed to help stop the craving. Like smokers, this will only work if you really want to stop taking heroin. It takes a lot of willpower. Unfortunately, a lot of addicts see the methadone programme as a way to get a top up when they can't get the real thing. We can all have our opinions but I think that doctors have a lot of experience in dealing with drug users and maybe there's more to opening a methadone clinic in the town than we know about. The fact that the girl who wrote to the paper went to Rothesay for treatment shows she was desperate to put her life back on track. Not all users have the same will power.
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Re: Methadone Clinic in Campbeltown?

Postby Swanseajock » Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:51 pm

francii wrote:
Swanseajock wrote:Triffic idea, providing drugs to users at the taxpayers expence. Suppose it saves them having to pay for it themselves.


Of course everybody is entitled to their opinion but that's a little narrow minded don't you think? There are lots of unhappy reasons why people become hooked on drugs and it's not always a clear cut issue. Heroin is one of the most addictive, and once on it, it can be an incredibly difficult struggle to come off it again. I'm sure the majority of those who become hooked on it regret it and wish for a second chance at life. ............................. Don't forget also that these people will be on state benefits and whether they steal also to fund their addiction or not, the taxpayer is assisting in paying for their drugs anyway! I may be generalising rather a lot here, and practising a bit of idealism, but I think it's a much deeper issue than 'oh the taxpayer has to pay for these addicts'. What's the alternative?



I accept I have a narrow view, because every day I deal with people who are addicted to Heroin and other substances. But they are always "Going on a script" "Kicking the gear" "cleaning up" etc etc etc blah blah. But none seem to want to make the big push. I accept heroin is extremely addictive, having spoken to one or two who say the first hgh is the greatest thing and then they are forever chasing that ultimate high.
However it takes some fortitude and will power to want to get off the stuff, and the weak willed druggies don't really want to make any effort, move away from their comfort zone and mates and have a good go at cleaning up (the girl who travelled to Rothesay might be an exception, at least she makes the effort), and especially if the state gives them an on-tap replacement. Lock them up in a clinic/hospital and wean them off it, lowering their dosage as time goes on. It might have a high cost in the early stages but in the long run the savings might be worth it.
But no-one will suggest that, because of course they have their human rights - just look at the mother who locked her daughter in the house to stop her buying drugs, convicted of false imprisonment :<> ! We as a society shudder at the dreadfullness of it all, but are to scared/weak to take real direct action. Hey ho hoep that isn't too rambling and nonsensicle, soap box back in the cupboard for now :roll:
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