Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 17 October 2024

Committee on Drugs Use

A Health-Led Approach: Discussion (Resumed)

9:30 am

Photo of Lynn RuaneLynn Ruane (Independent)
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I refer to the monopolisation, in one sense, of prescribing and the gatekeeping and the potential personalities driving that gatekeeping. Going back very briefly to the point about methadone and morphine, the methadone is slow release and longer acting. It is ticking along, whereas morphine can have much more of a flow in terms of its highs and lows. They are both of a similar nature and work on the same receptors. While they may make their way through the body a little bit differently in the course of a day, methadone is not more dangerous in determining its dosage in comparison with morphine. There is no danger that exists with methadone that exists with morphine.