A Government advisory body on drugs has proposed an alternative treatment for heroin addiction which it says is safer than methadone, the drug normally used.
The National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) strongly advises that pilot studies be carried out with the alternative substance, buprenorphine, in treatment settings, including GP surgeries.
The NACD yesterday published research it commissioned which shows that buprenorphine can be as effective as methadone for the treatment of heroin addiction and has a better safety profile.
However, its chairman, Dr Des Corrigan, stressed that the drug was not without risks and should not be seen as "a miracle cure for this serious social problem. It must be used in conjunction with other non-drug treatments such as counselling".
Methadone is the most widely used drug for the treatment of heroin addiction. It must be taken daily and users may experience withdrawal symptoms if a dose is missed. The lead author of the report commissioned by the NACD, Dr Mary Teeling, said buprenorphine is less likely than methadone to cause withdrawal symptoms if it is discontinued abruptly. This makes it useful for people who wish to undergo detoxification or withdraw from a methadone maintenance programme and become opiate-free, she explained. Also, buprenorphine is effective if taken three times a week instead of daily.
Dr Teeling also outlined some of the downsides of using buprenorphine, including possible withdrawal symptoms for people changing from methadone maintenance to the alternative therapy.
The report, prepared by the National Medicines Information Centre, the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and St James's Hospital, was launched yesterday by the Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, Mr Noel Ahern.
Mr Ahern said he had sent the report to the Department of Health with a suggestion that a working group be set up to examine the issues raised in it.