Methadone becomes a substitute for drug addicts

Bharat Khanna

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 29

Drug addicts in Punjab appear to be now turning addicted to Methadone Hydrochloride, a medicine being used at two de-addiction centres in Punjab for treatment of patients who are addicted of injecting drugs.

Earlier, there have been numerous reports of a number of drug addicts undergoing treatment for the Bupinorphine and Tramadol drugs that are recommended by doctors as medicines to renounce drug-addiction.

A 22-year-old patient addicted of methadone reached the de-addicition centre Bathinda five days ago for the treatment. He said that he had been addicted to methadone from last one year and the dosage went on increasing during this time.

“It was first week when I vomited and faced difficulties to start consuming methadone. But later, it worked as a substitute for my drugs two years ago. However, the dosage was 2 ml when I started but now, it has reached to 7.5 ml per day. I was unable to leave Bathinda for a single day even as I was bound to get methadone everyday from the Civil Hospital. Many of my friends, who were getting methadone as treatment for de-addiction from here, had committed suicide by hanging themselves. I, too, was injecting other drugs like heroine along with methadone everyday. A few days ago, I was about to die after I consumed a heavy dosage of drugs besides taking methadone. I want to spend time with family, my sweet children and reached here to give up methadone,” said a drug addict from city Samarth (name changed) in hours long communication. He revealed that he had been addicted to drugs since he was 15.

Under the United Nation Office on the Drugs and Crime (UNODC’s) experience of implementing Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) the methadone is provided to drug addicts at five such de-addiction centres across the country, including Kapurthala Civil hospital, Bathinda Civil Hospital, at AIIMS Delhi, at RIM hospital Mizoram, Imphal and at KM Hospital Mumbai.

In Bathinda, the de-addiction centre about 150 patients have been registered since the inception of the project ‘Methadone Hydrochloride’ in February 2012. Out of these 150 patients, about 77 are regular and 66 patients are dropouts whereas only eight patients have been recorded as successful, who had reportedly abandoned the drugs. However, doctors admitted that no follow-up of these eight patients have been done. Similarly the figure cross 230 patients as registered since 2012 in Kapurthala center out of which 80 are regular patients.

Dr Satish Thapar, a Psychiatrist at the Civil Hospital in Bathinda, said, “The patient has been admitted as he was addicted to methadone. But we will first reduce the quantity of methadone and then treat him with medicines if need arises. A number of patients are stable on their dosage, while many had increased whereas some others have decreased their Methadone dosage. Patients have to get methadone daily from here and there is no carry-home provision.” He admitted of having no record about the dropout patients, had they died or left to some other place.

When asked if sure about the patients consuming methadone do not consume any other drug, he said, “There is no such data survey conducted on patients. But we involve the family of patients before we start giving methadone to patients. No follow-ups of successful patients were done. But we would do a thorough study on it,” added, Dr Satish Thapar.

“There are no criteria on when the methadone being given to patient should be stopped. It depends upon patients will to give up the drugs. With methadone usage, there is improvement in social and moral behavior of a number of heavy drug addicts who use to take intoxicated injections in large quantity and use to commit crimes like snatching, thefts and fighting but now, many are employed and living a good life and earning responsibilities. Even if the patients are regularly consuming methadone, we cannot ignore these factors of socio-moral behaviour and curbing of crime,” said, Dr Sandeep Bhola, at Kapurthala Civil Hospital.

He added that doctors themselves take care that patient living within five kilometers should be given the medicine, however, in some cases patients from far off areas are also given.