February 14, 2007 — News Summary from JoinTogether, and from USA Today article by Donna Leinwand

The rate of fatal overdoses attributed to methadone use increased faster than overdoses involving any other drug between 1999 and 2004, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

USA Today reported Feb. 13 that fatal methadone overdoses in 2004, which totaled 3,849, rose 390 percent from 1999. Almost 13 percent of all overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2004 involved methadone, the NCHS report said, up from 4 percent in 1999.

Painkiller becomes more available

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.

Most people who suffer fatal methadone overdoses are drug addicts, according to Nicholas Reuter, a senior public health analyst at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. At about $20 a pill on the black market and pennies a dose when prescribed, methadone is considerably cheaper than such opiates.

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.

Methadone also is a tricky drug to manage even when legally prescribed as a pain medication, warned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last fall. "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.

Methadone has long been viewed as a relatively safe and effective narcotic

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.

The problem is complicated by doctors who prescribe methadone incorrectly and patients who do not follow directions in taking it. It eases pain up to six hours but can stay in the body 59 hours. Patients may want more before the dose wears off and 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.

Link to articles:

JoinTogether article

USAToday article