DOCTORS DECRY SURREY'S LATEST METH PLAN

Surrey is preparing to restrict how pharmacies issue methadone, with a
proposed bylaw that requires the drug be taken in front of pharmacists.

But a doctor from the province's task force on addiction says the city is
"arrogant" to think it can run medical services better than physicians.

Surrey's public safety committee received a report this week that
recommends "that no person shall sell ... methadone for consumption
anywhere but on the premises of a methadone dispensary or drug store."

The bylaw is hoped to reduce or eliminate the amount of methadone being
traded and sold on the street.

Methadone is a drug used to reduce the effects of heroin withdrawal and
less commonly for pain relief. Physicians already require that newly
recovering heroin addicts take the drug in the presence of a pharmacist,
but as patients recover, they are allowed to take a few days' supply home
- -- called "carries" -- so they can pursue normal lives.

Surrey's bylaw will be discussed by the public safety committee next month
but city councillors who sit on the committee are in favour of the plan.

"Methadone is being traded on the streets, and it's not being used by
ex-heroin addicts using it for their own medicinal use," says committee
member Coun. Marvin Hunt. "That then becomes a massive concern."

Committee chair Coun. Dianne Watts agrees, expressing concerns about the
lack of regulations surrounding pharmacies and the way methadone is
dispensed. If the city has to step in and regulate, then that's what it
will do, she maintained.

Coun. Gary Tymoschuk, who also sits on the committee, also expects to
support the proposed bylaw when it comes back to committee.

Dr. Ray Baker, a foremost expert on addiction medicine and member of the
province's task force on addictions, says the city is wading into dangerous
waters.

"If they're going to interfere with the medical treatment of that disease,
I'd like to see what they're going to say about diabetes and heart disease,
because they're obviously getting into the realm of treatment," Baker said.
"They're so arrogant."

Surrey Mounties confirm that they frequently arrest people in possession of
methadone that is not part of their prescription.

But Baker points out that many pharmaceuticals trade on the street,
including Valium and Percodan. Surrey's proposed bylaw takes away a
valuable incentive for methadone patients who are getting on with
productive lives, he said.

Developing a relationship with the patients is an arduous process, however
one that can produce excellent results, he says.

"You start to work with patients that are manipulative and dishonest --
their lives are very out of control when we first see them," Baker said,
adding that over time, patients become more settled, which brings increased
trust by the physician. "If your behaviour improves, you get rewards. The
most powerful reward we have to bring about improved behaviour are carries.
If you take that away, what you're saying is `we don't trust you.' "

Dr. Gulzar Cheema, the B.C. minister in charge of addictions services, says
Surrey is stepping beyond its authority with the proposed bylaw.

"It's not within their jurisdiction, they have to go to the College of
Physicians or College of Pharmacists (if they have concerns)," Cheema said.
"As a politician, how far are you going to be going?"

Surrey recently increased the cost of business licences for methadone
dispensaries by 5,000 per cent, prompting four dispensaries to sue the city
over what they say is a "discriminatory" fee.

If the latest methadone bylaw is approved by the public safety committee,
it will go to city council for consideration.