Introduction of Suboxone delayed because of need for specific legislationAn alternative to methadone for treating people with heroin and other opiate drug addictions is to be made widely available after the Department of Health agreed to provide the funding.
However, the introduction of Suboxone for people with opioid dependence is being delayed by the need for specific legislation allowing the drug to be given on the same basis as methadone.
The department said drafting of this legislation is at an advanced stage. “It is anticipated that it will be published in the coming months, with the intention of having it enacted later this year,” a spokesman said.
Suboxone costs up to 10 times as much as methadone but is less addictive and harder to abuse, so patients can take it home. Withdrawal symptoms are generally less severe and the risk of fatal overdose is lower.
Clinicians and patient groups have long been critical of the absence of an alternative to methadone, given that a majority of patients do not move on from the treatment. More than 10,000 people receive methadone as a treatment for drug addiction. Some 3,300 have been in receipt of the drug for a decade or more.
Source: Paul Cullen, The Irish Times, 07/06/16
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