METHADONE PROGRAM AIDS N.B. ADDICTS

173 People on Waiting List for Treatment for Opiate Dependency

Moncton - May 16, 2002 was an ordinary day for most people, but for Sally
Clements, it was exceptional. It marked the first time in eight years she
didn't need a pill to get out of bed.

She wasn't weighed down by the bone-deep agony of withdrawal. She wasn't
too sick to make breakfast for her nine-year-old daughter. With methadone
in her system, she could function again.

Eight years ago, a motorcycle accident left Clements with severe whiplash
and lower back pain. She was prescribed Percocet, an opiate painkiller, to
recover. It started with one tablet every four hours. But the pain
gradually crept in around her regular dose, so she began taking the pills
more frequently.

Six months after the accident, she was taking 40 pills a day. She started
returning to her doctor's office too soon for refills.

"I'd make things up, like I lost my bottle or I spilled them," Clements
said in a recent interview.

He caught on and cut her off. She turned to street sales, paying about $50
for a single black market pill. A typical day became driven by one purpose:
getting enough painkillers to make it to the next morning.

"When I didn't have them, I was sick. Usually I made sure I had my fix
first thing in the morning - five Percocets and a coffee," she said.

"Then I'd get my daughter off to school. The rest of the day I'd spend
shoplifting, conning people to get supplies to get me through to the next
morning."

After four arrests for shoplifting and seven failed attempts to complete
the Addiction Services' detox program in Moncton, Clements approached her
addictions counsellor in tears this spring, begging him for admission to
its methadone prescription program.

Methadone is a synthetic opiate that helps stabilize opiate addicts when
administered under controlled circumstances. It reduces painful, flu-like
withdrawal symptoms and helps them overcome their cravings.

Supporters of methadone programs say it helps convert addicts back to
functioning members of society. It's also promoted as a major deterrent to
crime.

Gerry Cameron, Addiction Services' addiction attendant co-ordinator, said
methadone is a last resort for opiate addicts who want to regain control of
their lives.

Clements' thwarted attempts to stop her addiction aren't a reflection on
her character, Cameron said, but on the power that the drug had over her.

"They don't do it for fun or to get high, it's to function," he said. "If
it was that easy to stop, I wouldn't be doing what I do today."

Clements and about 120 other addicts are getting their second chance
through the methadone prescription program, which is overseen by a
committee of physicians, pharmacists, police and Addictions Services staff.

After signing a contract agreeing to stay clean while on the program,
Clements receives weekly prescriptions for her daily methadone dose at a
Moncton pharmacy. She gets her dose of orange liquid in a small cup and
gulps it on-site at the drug store counter.

Since she began the drug, Clements' life has changed dramatically. She
spends more time with her daughter and the little girl's school grades have
improved.

Cameron said about half of the program's clients and those on the waiting
list became addicted after taking prescription narcotics, such as Diluadid,
Percocet and OxyContin, to treat illness or injury.

"They become addicted through no fault of their own," he said.

Cameron said he can't place the blame entirely on local health professionals.

While they can pay attention to warning signs of opiate addiction, they
often don't realize their patients are double-doctoring and then visiting
multiple pharmacies.

Meanwhile, criminal organizations are shipping pills from larger urban
centres to the local black market. And the underground trade is booming at
the Canada-U.S. border at St. Stephen, N.B.

The problem is that 173 other opiate addicts are languishing on a waiting
list for treatment under the local community-run program.

"The worst part of my job everyday is the 10 to 12 people I have to say
'No' to," said Cameron. "We do not have the physical or human resources to
handle it.

"We're overtapped at 120 (clients). We're trying to put a Band-Aid on a
great big artery that's bleeding."

New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces in Canada
that don't offer bona fide methadone maintenance programs in its urban centres.

Addiction Services manager Michelina Mancuso said the committee-run
methadone program in Moncton was created out of their existing budget,
without any additional funding from the province.