Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jan 2005
Source: Advocate, The (LA)
Copyright: 2005 The Advocate, Capital City Press
Contact:  http://www.theadvocate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2
Author: Bob Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)

LIVINGSTON CORONER SAYS THIRD VICTIM HAD USED METHADONE

DENHAM SPRINGS -- A third young man who died in Livingston Parish this 
weekend tested positive for methadone, the Livingston Parish coroner 
confirmed Tuesday.

Investigators have not established a relationship between the third victim 
and two teenagers who also died in Denham Springs Saturday, Sheriff Willie 
Graves said.

A toxicological screening of the bodies of all three showed positive 
results for methadone, said Dr. Ron Coe, the Livingston Parish coroner.

Coe warned young people not to assume any drugs or unknown substances 
offered to them by friends are benign, and said they should realize that 
drugs can vary greatly in strength.

For instance, liquid methadone, like some other drugs, comes in an 
extremely potent form, he said. A single ounce of concentrated methadone 
liquid is equal to 60, 5-milligram methadone pills, Coe said.

The beginning methadone dosage in fighting severe pain is one-half of a 
5-milligram tablet, Coe said. Robert Aucoin, a clinical pharmacist in Baton 
Rouge, confirmed Coe's numbers for the concentrated liquid, which is one of 
three strengths in which liquid methadone is sent to pharmacists.

An overdose of methadone causes a person to quit breathing and not be in 
condition to ask for help, he said.

One of the drug's pharmaceutical forms is a "flavored liquid," but 
methadone tablets can be crushed and mixed with liquid on the street, 
Carpenter said.

Authorities said they have not yet determined the strength or source of any 
substances ingested by the people in the two separate cases.

It will be weeks before results get back showing the levels of any drugs in 
the victims' systems, Coe said. The coroner warned people to call 911 
immediately if a person becomes unconscious after taking a drug or drinking 
heavily.

"A significant length of time passed" between the time the two 17-year-olds 
were left in a truck by acquaintances early Saturday morning and when 
authorities got a 911 call Saturday afternoon, he said.

Given immediate medical attention, the lives of people with drug or alcohol 
overdoses often can be saved, the coroner said.

The latest man Coe confirmed to have tested positive for methadone this 
weekend was Christopher P, Robinsion, 26, 11415 Brown Road, Denham Springs.

Robinson was found dead in his bed, and the case has been ruled an 
accidental overdose, officials said. "It's easy to overdose on," Carpenter 
said of methadone.

Authorities identified the two teenagers who died Saturday as Austin J. 
Way, 30233 Able St., Denham Springs, and Timothy J. Fruge, 10 Main St., Angola.
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