INJECTABLE METH - NOT EXACTLY THE WHATDOCTOR ORDERED

It is now becoming accepted, by some members of the medical profession at least, that injectable Methadone damages the vascular system. That it was never meant for intravenous use is something that medics and drug workers have conveniently ignored for years (or do they never open their British National Formularies, the prescriber's bible?). Methadone produces a much longer withdrawal syndrome than heroin and, in injectable form, has other unpleasant side effects - excessive sweating, headaches, water retention, blisters and burns. Methadone is a synthetic drug. Diamorphine is a semi-synthetic, derived from naturally occurring alkaloids in the opium poppy and, probably because it's closer to the plant form, has none of these side effects. Moreover, withdrawals are less severe and are shorter-lived.

The real problem with diamorphine treatment is the irrational stigma that surrounds the name 'heroin' and the puritanical objection of the medics to the fact that it produces euphoria. Methadone is the drug the treatment industry here (and world wide) promotes, and the fact that it is less euphoric means that we end up taking more of it in pursuit of the elusive high. And the circle goes on. Because of it's harmfulness, the more we take the more damage we do to ourselves. Thus proving both that drug use is harmful and manufacturing opiods for use in drug treatment is very profitable.

IS INJECTABLE METHADONE BECOMING MORE HARMFUL?

In spite of all the problems linked with methadone amps, when it was produced by Wellcome under the name Physeptone, users had the consolation of knowing that the quality of the drug was good. This seems to have changed dramatically now that generic methadone has become available. Users have noticed the difference in the various manufacturers products. Something that should not occur if products are uniform.

In April of 1998, users of ampoules made by one particular manufacturer noticed a very strong taste at the back of the throat when injecting intravenously. This sickening taste was so pronounced that some people were actually sick when injecting. Others complained of head aches. Many thought the taste was due to the manufacturers using preservatives in the ampoules, as used to be the case with some diamorphine ampoules. When ADAPT phoned the manufacturers concerned, they were very helpful and explained that it wasn't preservatives but a solvent. Apparently there had been problems with the production process which meant that not all the solvent had been removed as it should have been.

Other side effects of these tainted ampoules were thickening and curling of the toenails and finger nails. It appears that no attempt was made to recall ampoules from this batch which were in supply for some time. The long term effects of these ampoules for users are unknown. As far as we know, no research has been undertaken on intravenous injection of these particular solvents over a period of time. But, after all, we're only junkies and therefore disposable and without value.

METHADONE WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR INTRAVENOUS USE

Even where methadone is produced properly, it causes health problems, especially venous damage, for IV users. A manufacturers own patient information leaflet states:

'Methadone injection can either be administered into a muscle or under the surface of the skin. If repeated doses are necessary, injection into a muscle should be used.'

One of the writers has used methadone since their heroin script was removed in 1981. No doctor has ever given us this information and, so far as we can ascertain, other users have not been made aware of the fact that it is not intended for IV use.

Another pearl from the same source says:

'In the treatment of drug addiction your dose will be adjusted to meet your individual and possibly changing requirements.'

As far as we (and many other users) are concerned, we never get treated as individuals and the only dose adjustment medics favour for us is ever downwards.

Many people have complained to their DDU (Drug Dependency Units) doctors about feeling ill whilst using IV meth. For some users it seems to amount to an allergic reaction. Little wonder when the manufacturer's documentation states:

'Side effects which may occur include dizziness, nausea, vomiting or an increase in pressure within the skull which may cause severe headaches. You may also experience pain at the site of injecting. In the case of injecting under the skin irritation and tissue damage may be causedÉ'

Pain and 'some' tissue damage? What is it doing to our veins? Some users have burns that go through the skin and fat layers to the muscle. Wounds that never heal properly. Has your Doctor or drug worker ever warned you of this? We bet they haven't.

BRING BACK HEROIN - IT'S WHAT DOCTORS ORDERED (FOR THEMSELVES)

The NHS had a bad press last year. There were stories about organs being removed from recently dead children largely without parents consent; the avoidable deaths of babies through open-heart surgery at Bristol Infirmary; an inquiry into wrongful mastectomies and hysterectomies at Kent and Canterbury; a patient in South Wales who had the wrong kidney removed (and donÕt forget Harold Shipman). Just the latest additions to the long catalogue of NHS incidents where only public pressure at some suspected wrong has brought matters into the open. The NHS is largely unaccountable. Some of the medical professions are self-regulatory and their decisions cannot be challenged. Nowhere are these aspects of our health service clearer than in the addictions treatment field. Let's make injectable meth an issue in our struggle for users rights. Let's focus public attention on this.

Bring heroin back onto the treatment menu. Especially for maintenance for long term injectors. Protest about the use of injectable methadone as an IV medication. Ask why it is that a profession that has as one of its guiding principles 'Do no harm', is willing to prescribe a drug that is not intended for IV use, but is unwilling to prescribe another drug (diamorphine) that does not have the same complications. The issue is not just about the proper use of injectable methadone, its about restoring drug of choice prescribing. When Doctors 'go native', they don't write methadone scripts for themselves, they choose heroin or morphine. We want what Dr Clive Froggat (Mrs Thatcher's one time medical adviser) used to get - smack!

JAMES and JOSEPHINE LEIGH ADAPT