The number of people taking methadone is not recorded

The Scottish Executive said that prescription statistics did not give this information, but it estimated the figure to be 19,200 last year.

This has increased from an estimate of 16,400 in 2002 and 18,000 in 2003.

Figures for how many people have come off methadone to become completely drug-free were also unavailable.

'Increasing rapidly'

At First Minister's Questions on Thursday, Tory leader Annabel Goldie challenged Jack McConnell to say how many rehabilitation places Scotland had.

The first minister said he was unaware of the number.

But he said the executive had announced extra funding in the summer to deliver a "significant increase" in provision.

Mr McConnell agreed with the Tory leader that more drug rehabilitation services should encourage the abstinence-based approach, but insisted "harm reduction" methadone schemes also had a role to play.

Miss Goldie said 411,399 methadone prescriptions were issued in Scotland in 2004/05.

We need more places where people in Scotland who are drug addicts can get off drugs completely First Minister Jack McConnell

"This figure is increasing rapidly and the projection is that in 2012 - that's only seven years away - we shall be issuing over a million scripts a year," she said.

"If we continue down this road we shall not only have to provide care for the elderly but also old people's homes for methadone addicts, as exist in Holland."

Mr McConnell insisted politicians must listen to expert advice.

He added: "We need to have more places, as we have allocated the resources for.

"We need more places where people in Scotland who are drug addicts can get off drugs completely and be supported not just in rehabilitation but when they're back in the community too.

"Secondly, though, we do need to have a number of routes for people to make that successful route into the community.

"And to achieve that sometimes methadone will be part of the solution but we should not rely on it for the long term.