METHADONE DIVERSION IN ATHENS - WHY???
An article in an Athens paper describes the "illegal trade in the potent medicine, methadone." History and common sense teach us that black markets, whether in penicillin, silk stockings or methadone, are driven by demand rather than supply. So the question is: what is being done to ensure legal, clinically effective methadone to all in Athens who need it? For sure, making it more difficult to gain access to care within the city will only fuel the demand. Full story (English)
posted by RGNewman, MD @ 10:25 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I don't understand the logic in your post. The story stated that people receiving methadone were selling it to buy heroin, so why would there be more need for methadone? It seems that there are at least two dozen people this story was written about who are getting it but don't want it.
Yes, it would appear two dozen patients were apprehended trying to sell methadone. But the total number in treatment in Greece is over 3,500. More to the point of the posting, according to EMCDDA report for 2007 (easily found on line), the WAITING LIST for methadone treatment in Greece numbered 3,828 in May 2007 (almost 3,000 in Athens alone). If it were my son who needed a medication demonstrated for 40 years to help the great majority who receive it, for a condition that with tragic frequency is fatal - and that son were placed on a "waiting list" - I have to say, I'd be out there on the streets trying to buy the medication for him. And if I were depserately trying to buy, there's no question some folks would be willing to sell. That's the problem in a nutshell.
All the people that need the methadone they die day by day and the people that give the methadone have more. Money day by day...
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