In-house methadone program planned for St. John's prison

Corrections officials in St. John's hope to have a plan in place by this spring to treat drug-dependent inmates inside Newfoundland and Labrador's main penitentiary.

Inmates who are hooked on narcotics must be taken from Her Majesty's Penitentiary for daily treatments of methadone, which helps addicts overcome their dependence on opiates.

Scott Nichol said he appreciates the methadone program, but he does not like what he considers the daily humiliation that comes with treatment.

"I got to walk through this yard now with shackles on the biggest, you know?" he told CBC News.

"Well, like anybody, it makes you feel like less of a man," he said. "Sometimes you're glad that the windows in the van are tinted out. You feel like a circus freak or something."

Transporting inmates in and out of the prison seven days a week is time-consuming and costly.

However, superintendent John Scoville said for now it remains the only option, as the prison is not equipped to administer a complex drug like methadone.

"What we're moving towards is having an in-house methadone treatment program, which would obviously take care of a lot of those issues," Scoville said.

"Then it would be done in a room in the institution and save a lot of time, and also opportunities for things to go wrong."

About 10 inmates at a time are typically involved in the methadone program.

Because methadone is a powerful drug, it must be administered within sight of health professionals.

Scoville said he expects to have rules and guidelines for delivering the program established by April.