Using methadone to kick drug habit

NST: One in two hardcore drug addicts will return to society a clean person within six months of treatment. This is the promise of liquid methadone, a substitute therapy to help them kick the habit.
And in the next five years, some 50,000 hardcore drug addicts who are now using needles and syringes to inject themselves with heroin or morphine four to five times a day, would have been put on liquid methadone.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek is confident that this treatment will yield a success rate of at least 60 per cent.
The cost is RM380 per addict per month compared to RM480 if they are placed in Pusat Serenti and other rehabilitation centres. An estimated 100,000 hardcore drug addicts are now taking drugs intravenously.
"With methadone treatment, we hope to see many addicts returning to society free of drugs within six months," Dr Chua said.
He hoped there would be jobs for them so that they could lead a decent life with the help and moral support of their families and the community.
At present, 1,200 hardcore addicts are undergoing treatment with methadone on a pilot project. They are mostly from Pusat Serenti as well as volunteers.
Dr Chua said the project launched last month was proceeding well. The 1,200 addicts were being treated at selected public and private hospitals and clinics nationwide, he added.
These include the Mental Health and Psychiatric Departments at the Alor Star and Bukit Mertajam hospitals, Klinik Xavier in Butterworth, the Mental Health and Psychiatric Department at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and the Psychology Medical Department at Universiti Malaya.
Dr Chua said each doctor would be handling between 20 and 30 cases and has to submit a report on the progress and activities of the addicts, including their state of health.
"If the addicts are found to be HIV positive, they would be treated and counselled," he added.
It is hoped that the number of hardcore drug addicts under the treatment will increase to at least 5,000 by June next year.
Dr Chua said the Government was concerned over the increasing number of drug addicts and HIV victims among young people. Last year, there were 19,810 new addicts and 16,862 relapse cases. Of the total, 98 per cent were males and 80 per cent were below 44.
Thirty-three per cent were on heroin, 31 per cent on morphine, 17 per cent on ganja and the rest on party drugs.
Asked why the ministry had started with only 1,200 drug addicts, Dr Chua said this was to study the weaknesses of the programme so that they could be overcome when the number was increased.
"Our biggest problem is trained manpower and we hope to overcome it by training at least 100 personnel every year for the next five years," he said.