IN some respects I welcome a review into the methadone programme as in many ways it does not work, but I worry about some of the comments that have been made that suggest that abstinence is a viable alternative ("Heath experts to review methadone after 275 die", The Herald, October 6).

Decades of failed drug policies still do not seem to have got the message across that "just say no" and its variants is not a sound basis for policy, yet many politicians want to go further down the path. Ruth Davidson criticises methadone as "legalised drug use" without considering that the fact that it does not criminalise people might be one of its biggest advantages.

I suspect that many people who oppose methadone are under the impression that addicts should instead simply be made to go "cold turkey" and that doing so will cure them of their addiction. The fact is, however, that such withdrawal is about as effective in curing heroin dependency as a hangover is in curing alcoholism. Places like Russia attempt such a means of treating addiction and the results are not something we should wish to see here.

The fact is that in many cases methadone works and if users fail to come off it but have otherwise been able to sort out their lives then on balance that should still be considered a success. Where it fails it is often because it has failed to stop users from still taking heroin. The answer to this problem is not to become even more naive about the inevitability of drug abuse.

Perhaps the most successful programme for the treatment of heroin addicts thus far found has been that of Switzerland, which has been primarily based around methadone treatment, but where this has failed has provided clean heroin to addicts to be taken under supervision. Participation in this programme is combined with support to addicts in achieving a more stable life including employment and in general the programme has been very successful in taking addicts out of the cycle of crime and instability that addiction puts them in. This has been achieved by recognising that some people are simply going to take drugs and there is nothing to be done about that fact other than reducing the harm it causes.

"Just say no" might make for a useless policy but it is good advice on the individual level and people should always be advised not to abuse drugs. However, it is a simple denial of reality to suppose that people will always take that advice. Policy should focus on tackling the causes of drug abuse and on supporting those who do become addicted in rebuilding their lives. It is time to stop pretending that we can simply stop people from taking drugs entirely.

Iain Paterson,

2F Killermont View, Glasgow.

WHATEVER the original good intentions behind the prescription of methadone to drug addicts the system appears to have morphed into a damage-limitation exercise for addicts with chaotic lifestyles that unfortunately is now implicated in the deaths of more users than is the originally-abused drug, heroin.

When one compares the drug-induced deaths in Scotland to those directly attributed to alcohol it is obvious where the main problem lies. If it were suggested that GPs could prescribe Chateau Lafite to their chronic alcoholics to try to wean them off cheap cider the country would be up in arms, yet the same circumstances prevail. Why the difference in approach when the only difference is the legality of the abused substance?

Society accepts that simply as a result of our modern modes of transport hundreds die and thousands are maimed on our roads every year; we try to minimise the number but we accept that fatalities will happen, so why such concern if some choose to play Russian roulette by taking drugs?

Should we really care if some addicts overdose on heroin yet ignore those who overdose on alcohol? If the Government thinks that a minimum price for alcohol will curtail abuse of that drug why does it not think that a similar policy would work for heroin and other drugs? A conservative estimate is that 5% of our total deaths are obesity-related. Can we expect low-calorie pies to be available on prescription?

The cure for all substance abuse is to stop abusing the substance. The message may be unpalatable but it should be the first and only therapy. No Colombian drug cartel is the major killer of Scotland's junkies; we have managed to nationalise that achievement with the NHS being the principal if not the solitary supplier of methadone.

David J Crawford,

Flat 3/3, 131 Shuna Street,

Glasgow.