To the editor:
Re: “New methadone treatment worries Vancouver users,” Jan. 31.
I am writing to correct errors in the article regarding the change in formulation of methadone dispensed in pharmacies in B.C. It appears that millilitres have been incorrectly referred to as milligrams in the article.
The old formulation, which was compounded in pharmacies, had a strength of 1 mg/mL. The strength of the new commercially manufactured product, Methadose, is 10 mg/mL, 10 times stronger. The 150 mg dose referred to in the article would formerly have been contained in 150 mL of liquid. The same 150 mg (not 15 mg as stated) will be contained in 15 mL of the new formulation.
It is therefore true that an extra millilitre or two (not milligram or two as stated) will contain 10 or 20 milligrams of methadone, so careful measuring is required.
Physicians who prescribe and pharmacists who dispense methadone are very aware of this. Individuals taking methadone need to be correctly informed, too.
Marion Pearson, RPh,
Vancouver
