People who use methadone to help decrease their drug dependancy will soon be getting a new, much more potent product.
Beginning on Feb. 1 B.C. is moving to a prefabricated formula 10 times more powerful than the current dose. As a result, physicians and pharmacists have been busy educating their patients about the new product and cautioning them about the need to consume only one tenth of the amount they're used to consuming.
"Prescribers have been well informed, pharmacists have had to go through mandatory training right across the province," College of Pharmacists of BC director of public accountability and engagement Mykle Ludvigsen said, noting a training event was held in Prince George in the fall. "We think that the pharmacists in this province are well equipped to be able to handle the change quite well."
While patients who are prescribed the drug are expected to be well versed on the new formula, those who obtain it through the black market or come across it unintentionally in a medicine cabinet may not be aware of how powerful it can be. As a result, various provincial agencies have been conducting an ongoing public health campaign to get the word out before the changeover occurs.
In Prince George, the College of Pharmacists have handed out posters to various community groups while the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has launched its own poster campaign at medical facilities.
"Our concern is with regards to people who may not be in regular contact with their physician or with their pharmacists," Ludvigsen said. "We want to make sure that people are aware that this is a different concentration and there is more dose and less juice."
The current product is orange and Ludvigsen said its taste is similar to Tang, while the new product will be red and have a cherry flavour.
"They taste different, they look different and they're dispensed different," Ludvigsen said.
Many people who use methadone to treat addiction consume the medication regularly in the pharmacy, while others are prescribed it on the condition they can bring it home and consume it there.
Ludvigsen said the public health campaign is aimed at people who may run across it in a domestic environment and could mistake it for a painkiller or other similar red-coloured liquid medication. His key message is: "If it takes like cherry, think very carefully about what you're drinking."
He also stressed the importance of keeping the product out of reach of children.
The change to the new drug concoction is being made to provide consumers with a more reliable product and bring B.C. in line with what's offered in other jurisdictions. Ludvigsen said B.C. was the only region that had been using a one-to-one concentration, compared to the 10-to-one formula used in most other locales.
"It's a more consistent product, it's a more consistent experience," he said. "Because it's being manufactured in a facility you know exactly how much is in there when you get it. It's just a safer product all around."
