THE friendly relationship between Scottish Tories and the SNP government was under strain last night after it emerged more than £25million was spent last year dispensing the heroin substitute methadone to addicts.
Earlier in the year the Tories squeezed a new national drugs strategy out of the Scottish Government in return for support for the budget.
One of the Tories’ main complaints was addicts were remaining on methadone for years without getting any help to kick their habits.
But a parliamentary answer from Public Health Minister Shona Robison shows that the cost of supervised dispensing of methadone by community pharmacists was £25.7million in 2007-08.
Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said the previous administration had presided over a situation where they could not even say how many prescriptions were issued annually. “What we currently have is not working,” he said. “The new SNP minority government’s period of grace has run out. It’s time for action.”
The figures show that the cost of prescribing methadone was £2.1million in Grampian, £1.29million in Tayside, £990,000 in Forth Valley and nearly £454,000 in Highland.
The Tories says the figures show treatment is now over-dependent on methadone with some addicts waiting two years to be seen.
North-east Tory MSP Alex Johnstone said: “Many people throughout the NHS Grampian area will be shocked to learn that dispensing methadone costs so much. While I appreciate the arguments for using methadone, this treatment does nothing to help someone with a drug addiction break their habit."
Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said the national drugs strategy, unanimously endorsed by the Scottish Parliament in June, made clear that recovery would be the new focus of all drug treatment and rehabilitation services.
Evidence showed that methadone can help stabilise those at risk of falling back into chaotic lifestyles but it must be integrated more effectively with wider support services – such as housing, employment and psychological support – to fully address an individual’s needs and help them recover and rebuild their lives, he said.
“The drugs strategy recognises the need to help people move on from methadone through other treatments,” Mr Ewing said.