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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-22 Daily Xml
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METHADONE TREATMENT PROGRAMS

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:13): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse a question regarding methadone treatment programs.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: After many years of debate, Scotland some time ago determined that its methadone program was simply not working and it was moving to a policy of illicit drug recovery rather than drug maintenance. Scotland had one of the highest prescription rates for methadone in the world. Best estimates suggest that Scotland has around 52,000 heroin addicts, with roughly 22,000 of those prescribed methadone at any one time.

A significant reason for the change in policy in Scotland was research concluding that only 3 per cent of those on the methadone program in that country were actually getting off drugs. For the remaining 97 per cent, methadone was maintaining drug users but doing nothing to resolve their addiction in the medium or longer term. My questions to the minister are:

1. How many South Australians are currently prescribed methadone?

2. What is the actual recovery rate for people on our methadone program; that is, how many actually get off drugs?

The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting:

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: That's right. My questions continue:

3. What percentage of our budget for dealing with substance abuse issues is being spent on methadone programs?

4. Finally, will the minister consider taking Scotland's lead and transitioning to a policy of assisting addicts in the recovery from drugs rather than maintaining addicts on methadone and other substitutes?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:14): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions and will refer them to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse in another place and bring back a response. Having visited Scotland, one needs to be very careful about making direct comparisons. The situation there is very different to that here in Australia in the areas of substance abuse, illicit drugs and alcohol. A couple of years ago when I visited there and looked at the alcohol abuse problem that was very large indeed, much larger than here in Australia, they were working very hard to look at ways of overcoming that. I recall driving past a liquor outlet where you could buy a bottle of wine cheaper than you could buy a bottle of water.

There are many issues there in terms of their marketplace and their support services, their education services, etc., so I know that it is very difficult to look at these programs—in fact, any program—in isolation from broader support programs to address these very complex issues. As I said, I would be very pleased to refer this question to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse in another place and bring back a response.

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