Pubdate: Tue, 13 Feb 2007
Source: USA Today (US)
Section: Page 1A
Copyright: 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Donna Leinwand
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

DEADLY ABUSE OF METHADONE TOPS OTHER PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Only Cocaine Kills More By Overdose

Methadone, a painkiller that has been used to treat heroin addicts 
for decades, has emerged as an increasingly popular and deadly street 
drug, joining narcotics such as Vicodin and OxyContin as frequently 
abused prescription drugs.

Fatal overdoses of methadone rose at a higher rate than those 
involving any other narcotic from 1999 through 2004, according to a 
recent study by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The 
number of deaths from methadone in 2004 (3,849) represented a 390% 
rise from 1999, the study said.

Methadone was cited in nearly 13% of all the overdose deaths reported 
in the USA in 2004, up from about 4% five years earlier. Among drugs 
cited in fatal overdoses, only cocaine kills more people than methadone.

The NCHS study -- and reports from coroners nationwide that the trend 
is continuing -- indicate that doctors' increasing tendency to 
prescribe methadone as a cheap alternative to addictive pain 
relievers such as OxyContin has made it easier for addicts to get 
methadone, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Denise Curry says.

"It's out there, it's available, and it can be dangerous," Curry 
says. Pharmacies report that methadone is among the most popular 
drugs stolen, along with Vicodin and OxyContin, she says.

At about $20 a pill on the black market and pennies a dose when 
prescribed, methadone is considerably cheaper than such opiates.

Methadone has long been viewed as a relatively safe and effective 
narcotic, in part because its effects are gradual and it can ease 
withdrawal symptoms for recovering heroin addicts.

However, it also is addictive, and drug addicts account for most 
methadone-related deaths, says Nicholas Reuter, a senior public 
health analyst at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration.

Reuter says the problem is complicated by doctors who prescribe 
methadone incorrectly and patients who do not follow directions in 
taking it. On Nov. 26, the Food and Drug Administration warned 
doctors that "prescribing methadone is complex" because it eases pain 
up to six hours but can stay in the body 59 hours. Patients may want 
more before the dose wears off, the FDA warned.

"Methadone may build up in the body to a toxic level if it is taken 
too often, if the amount taken is too high, or if it is taken with 
certain other medications," the FDA said.

Authorities nationwide cite rising methadone fatalities:

Fatal drug overdoses in New Hampshire rose from 39 in 1995 to 105 in 
2003, and chief state medical examiner Thomas Andrew determined that 
methadone was the key. In 2005, Andrew says, at least 52 of the 153 
people who died from overdoses in the state had taken methadone. He 
suspects the trend continued in 2006.

Florida has had a "steady increase" in methadone deaths since 2001, 
says Jennifer Cook Pritt of the Department of Law Enforcement.

In West Virginia, where fatal methadone overdoses rose from 40 in 
2001 to 116 in 2005, state legislators are holding hearings on a plan 
to limit the medical professionals who could prescribe the drug, says 
Del. Don Perdue, a Democrat who leads the health committee in the 
House of Delegates.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman