Today around 140 Pharmacists stopped the dispensing of Methadone to Heroine addicts around Dublin. This tactic is a particularly cold and irresponsible protest against the HSE's cutting of funding to pharmacists which will see many who are involved in the subsidised drug provision plans operating on a loss when dispensing methadone.
Over 3000 people are to be affected by this move and depending on the length of this action it could lead to relapses of hundreds of addicts and the skyrocketing of streets prices and profits for drugdealers trading in illegal and substandard methadone and heroine.
Ógra Átha Cliath spokesperson Oisín Ó Dubhláin had this to say:
"While it is unfair to ask private pharmacists to operate on a loss this is an incredibly irresponsible action, the social fallout could be catastrophic. Vulnerable and brave people who have dedicated themselves to getting their life back on track and are recovering from addiction are now left to the devices of the parasitic illegal drugs trade. The HSE in another attempt to cut health spending like the firing of 30 nurses in Sligo last month have put the lives of recovering addicts in danger and strengthened the hand of drugdealers. This cannot continue, the abandonment of these vulnerable people by the pharmacists and the HSE is a rejection of their social responsibilities and sets a dangerous precedent for ethical conduct in business and public services."
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