NEW figures show Irvine and Kilwinning chemists made an astonishing £339,372 for dispensing methadone to drug addicts in 2014.

They were released as leading doctors warned Scotland’s methadone programme was spiralling out of control.

The drug is normally prescribed to heroin addicts as a substitute to get them off the drug. But some experts insists methadone is just as harmful and does little to address Scotland’s drug problem.

Prof Neil McKeganey, from the Centre for Drug Misuse Research, told the BBC on Tuesday that methadone was “literally a black hole into which people are disappearing”.

Data shows Scottish pharmacists were paid £17.8million for dispensing nearly half a million doses of methadone in 2014.

Prof McKeganey said: “We still don’t know how many addicts are on the methadone programme, what progress they’re making, and with what frequency they are managing to come off methadone. Successive inquiries have shown that the programme is in a sense out of control – it just sits there, delivering more methadone to more addicts, year in year out.” But David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drug Forum, told the BBC: “What we know is the level of methadone being dispensed continues at the same level, but it’s not the same individuals. Our sense is that of the 20,000-plus people on methadone, it will be less than half who are on it for a very long period of time.” He admitted there was no data in Scotland on whether users were relying on the programme indefinitely.

Fees paid back to pharmacies are for the dispensing of methadone, as well as for oral hygiene services and the services of a supervisor to ensure the dose is taken onsite and not sold on the street.

Pharmacies apply to enter into a contract with their health board to provide methadone services and must justify the need for such a service within that locality.

The figures also linked each area to their placing in the 2012 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation – the lower the percentage, the higher the deprivation.

They are: Pennyburn Pharmacy, Station Plaza, Pennyburn Road: £53,743 in fees for 1,828 doses of methadone. (Area ranked top 78.3 per cent in the 2012 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation or SIMD) Lloyds Pharmacy, Main Street, Kilwinning: £27,084 for 840 doses of methadone. (Area ranked top 4.3 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Boots, Almswall Road, Kilwinning: £21,026 for 507 doses of methadone (Area ranked top £4.3 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Boots, Frew Street, Irvine: £30,185 for 733 doses of methadone. (Area ranked top 14.3 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Jasvinder Shergill, Caldon Road, Irvine: £35,290 for 910 doses of methadone (Area ranked top 23.1 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Boots, Fullarton Square, Irvine: £21,213 for 723 doses of methadone. (Area ranked top 4.9 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Lloyds Pharmacy, High Street, Irvine: £31,191 for 1,206 doses of methadone. (Area ranked top 16.1 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Boots, High Street, Irvine: £46,918 for 1,162 doses of methadone. (Area ranked top 18.2 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Boots, East Road, Irvine: £20,728 for 498 doses. (Area ranked top 5.8 per cent in 2012 SIMD) Boots, Lower Vennel, Bourtreehill: £28,712 for 843 dosess of methadone. (Area ranked top 17.4 per cent in 2012 SIMD) LJ Wilson, Main Street, Dreghorn: £23,282 for 816 doses. (Area ranked top 22.8 per cent in 2012 SIMD)