METHADONE SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE, SAYS OFFICIAL

Safeguards are in place to prevent take-home doses of methadone from
getting into the wrong hands, according to the New Brunswick
Pharmaceutical Society.

But pharmacy protocols, which include instructing clients to keep
methadone in a locked box, appear not to have been followed in the
case of a 23-month-old girl from southeastern New Brunswick who was
transferred to a Halifax hospital after ingesting the drug.

"If clients are receiving take-home doses they are to present at the
pharmacy with a lock box," Gary Meek, assistant registrar of the New
Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society, said in an interview. "It's to
prevent exactly this kind of thing from happening."

There was no change in the status of a Havelock child on Tuesday, who
remains in critical condition at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

Paramedics and the Caledonia RCMP responded to a 9-1-1 call on Friday
that the little girl had ingested methadone.

The drug is used to treat people with addictions to opiate drugs such
as heroin and morphine. It also can be prescribed for pain management.

The RCMP is investigating to determine exactly what took place. Two
people were arrested and later released, but no charges have been laid.

Meek said the practice of allowing clients to administer methadone
treatments at home is appropriate.

"It is appropriate to allow take home doses from a pharmacy rather
than having all administration observed in the pharmacy itself or in
a clinic," he said. "But there needs to be safeguards.

"We have our own standards that pharmacies are to follow."

Meek said those standards include ensuring all clients have a locked
box to store the drug in at home.

"It should also be kept in a relatively high cupboard or cabinet or
potentially a cabinet that could be locked," he said.