17 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

I think I've written here before, that the methadone business can be very, very lucrative.  So much so that Bahr's Drugs on Quadra just stopped trying to be a normal pharmacy, and just went with methadone sales.

 

The pharmacy across from Our Place makes a ton of money off methadone.

 

Here is a Vancouver story about a suspended pharmacist that makes money delivering the treatments to clients.

 

 http://www.theprovin...6737/story.html

 

Here is another:

 

A Vancouver councillor wants to crack down on landlords on the Downtown Eastside who, he alleges, are exploiting drug addicts who are on methadone maintenance programs.

Councillor Kerry Jang says the city has heard complaints from residents who say their landlords force them to use specific pharmacies for methadone or face eviction.

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...buses-1.1108823

 

Jang says he also wants to prevent people who own a methadone dispensary from owning an SRO where they have a captive population of addicts who need to fill their prescriptions, which can be quite lucrative for pharmacists.

The B.C. government pays pharmacists about $16.30 for every daily dose of methadone they dispense. That translates into $6,000 a year in dispensing fees if a pharmacy can get a single addict to fill all of his or her prescriptions at its outlet.

 

 

 

That $16.30 is more or less pure profit, it does not include the cost of the product.  So every time a guy or gal walks up to the window on the west side of the Pandora pharmacy, the owner gets $16.30.

 

This article says you can get up to $20 per dose in profit (less labour costs):

 

Pharmacists who dispense methadone receive a dispensing fee – up to a maximum of $10 – as well as up to two cents per millilitre for methadone and $7.70 per claim for each witnessed ingestion, the B.C. Ministry of Health says. At nearly $20 for a typical dose, that could add up to more than $7,000 if someone got his or her prescription filled at the same pharmacy all year.

 

 

http://www.theglobea...rticle16193869/

 

So if you have a pharmacy that sees 100 users per day, that's up to $2000/day, or $60,000/month, or $720,000/yr. just in methadone profits.  Considering the size of the Pandora pharmacy, their rent is likely under $3000/mo.

 

The number of BC users has gone from about 6,800 in 2001, to over 14,000 today, including nearly 3,000 on the Island, according to these stats:

 

http://www.health.go...one-2011-12.pdf  ****PDF

 

That same publication says "The numbers of BC pharmacists and pharmacies dispensing methadone for maintenance purposes have more than doubled since 2001/2002."

 

The program cost has gone from under $20M to over $45M in that same time span. 

 

This article talks about cash kickbacks to patients in Surrey, who then use the cash to immediately buy street drugs:

 

http://www.canada.co...e3-463d37b78956

 

Information here says there are only 8 clinics on the Island (if I include Powell River), effective October 2013.

 

http://www.opiateadd...tory/bc_clinics

 

If that's accurate it means each clinic could be serving 375 customers each.  Which could mean daily profits of up to $7,500, or $2.75M per year for each location.

[Mike K.]

This is amazing. So we've created a tax payer funded goldmine for private business, meanwhile the efficacy of methadone treatments is questionable.

[VicHockeyFan]

This is amazing. So we've created a tax payer funded goldmine for private business, meanwhile the efficacy of methadone treatments is questionable.

I'm sure that methadone does cure some people, it's a step in the right direction. But how do you explain the rise from 6,800 user to 14,000 in just a decade? Are we seeing a 50% reduction in street heroin use over the same period?

[Mike K.]

How does one even become a methadone user? Do you just apply and receive it?

What's the benefit to the addict? Is there a high from using the stuff or does it just help control the cravings and mitigate withdrawal symptoms?

[VicHockeyFan]

How does one even become a methadone user? Do you just apply and receive it?

What's the benefit to the addict? Is there a high from using the stuff or does it just help control the cravings and mitigate withdrawal symptoms?

 

I suppose you see a doctor and they prescribe it.  I don;t think there is a high.  But that last article says:

 

 

 

Untreated heroin addicts who opt for methadone to reduce cravings require daily doses. Because of the fear they will resell the drug on the streets, most are required to visit a pharmacy daily and ingest it under a pharmacist's observation.

 

 

Pharmacists who follow the rules have complained to the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association that methadone clients expect payment for filling their prescriptions at their pharmacies.

 

"They tell them they've been offered money to take their prescriptions elsewhere," said executive-director Leslie Tannen.

She said heroin addicts are typically also addicted to crack, cocaine or prescription drugs and dealers set up next to the methadone dispensaries and openly traffick to them as they leave the pharmacies with cash in hand.

 

[Mike K.]

Well, this is what you get when the legal system makes a bit of a mockery of hard drug-related prosecutions.

[LJ]

She said heroin addicts are typically also addicted to crack, cocaine or prescription drugs and dealers set up next to the methadone dispensaries and openly traffick to them as they leave the pharmacies with cash in hand

 

 

What does she mean by "cash in hand"? It makes it sound like the addicts are getting paid.

[jklymak]

Yeah, thats what she meant.  You know the pharmacy makes $10/hit, so an addict agrees to use their pharmacy for a $5 rebate.  Its free-market efficiency!

[VicHockeyFan]

What does she mean by "cash in hand"? It makes it sound like the addicts are getting paid.

 

Read the article, some pharmacies are giving cash rebates with your methadone.

[Sparky]

Personal opinion.

 

I think the practice of giving a cash rebate to addicts for taking a drug that the taxpayers have probably paid for is not only stupid and immoral....it's rude.

[VicHockeyFan]

Personal opinion.

 

I think the practice of giving a cash rebate to addicts for taking a drug that the taxpayers have probably paid for is not only stupid and immoral....it's rude.

 

Probably paid for?  Of course we pay for it.

 

The ministry report I cited above says:

 

In 2011/2012, average annual methadone costs per patient were $3,301 

($2,899 of which was paid by PharmaCare).

 

 

I'm not sure who paid the difference here, perhaps private medical plans for employed people, that cover drug costs.

[Sparky]

Christ I wonder how many "patients" there are?

[VicHockeyFan]

Christ I wonder how many "patients" there are?

 

As cited in my articles, 14,000+ including over 3,000 on the Island.  Up over 100% from just 12 years ago. 

[Mike K.]

There are 14,000, twice more than a decade ago.

[Holden West]

Personal opinion.

 

I think the practice of giving a cash rebate to addicts for taking a drug that the taxpayers have probably paid for is not only stupid and immoral....it's rude.

 

 

Up until fairly recently Shoppers Drug Mart gave Optimum points for pharmacy purchases. Drugs like Humira that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars per round gave the user a whopping windfall worth hundreds of dollars every time they filled their prescription there. I don't know what the policy is at other stores. Air Miles perhaps. What I'm saying is we tend to demonize drug users but look away when it's us or our family.

[Sparky]

So $42 million a year give or take. I'm quite sure how I feel about that.

[jonny]

So $42 million a year give or take. I'm quite sure how I feel about that.

 

Wowzers.

[LJ]

Well I have to wonder whether this is a good use of funds or not. If the addicts are also using crack, cocaine, prescription drugs, what is the point of getting them off heroin? Heroin is cheap and plentiful.