Killer Drugs on New Zealand Streets
The National Society of Opioid Treatment Providers (NAOTP) says substitution treatment has been proven to save lives and
reduce levels of crime.
This comment is made in response to a 20/20 programme on the tragic case of two under-18-year-old boys who died after
taking methadone prescribed to treat opioid addicts.
Eileen Varley, Chairperson of the NAOTP, says this tragedy needs to be balanced by the benefits of substitution
treatment.
“A number of government agencies could have prevented these deaths,” she says.
“The most efficient way to improve the safety of these programmes would be for treatment programmes to be allowed to
substitute safer drugs than methadone. These drugs are available and widely used in other countries and they don’t have
the abuse potential of methadone.”
Eileen Varley says the only barrier to their use is that despite lobbying by NAOTP, PHARMAC has consistently refused to
fund these medications.
NAOTP says in the story featured last night alcohol was also involved in both these deaths, that both victims were
underage, and that in both cases the alcohol was consumed under the supervision of either the victims’ parents or
parents of the victims friends.
Eileen Varley says alcohol remains the drug that kills most people in New Zealand.
“Politicians who are currently debating the reform of the sale of liquor legislation could make society safer for
everyone including young people by implementing well established public health strategies such as increasing alcohol
prices, reducing its availability and restricting advertising. These suggestions were put to government by the Law
Commission last year but have so far been rejected by government,” she says.
ENDS