CSU STUDENT'S DEATH RESULT OF ALCOHOL, METHADONE COMBO

Almost two weeks before Bennett Bertoli would have celebrated his 21st
birthday on Jan. 11 the former CSU student's parents received an autopsy
report about the cause of his death.

The Larimer County Coroner released the cause of Bertoli's death as
intoxication with ethanol and methadone Dec. 29.

The freshman open-option seeking business major was found dead Dec. 11 at
1201 S. Shields St. According to the autopsy report, Bertoli had an alcohol
level of 0.124 and a methadone level of 193 nanograms per milliliter.

Methadone is often used for intense pain or narcotic withdrawal, said Deb
Morris, a health educator at Hartshorn Health Service.

She also said methadone is an opiate and a derivative of synthetic
biphenylheptane medication.

Keith Hardes, a pharmacist at Hartshorn, described methadone as a
medication often used to detoxify heroin.

Hartshorn does not prescribe methadone to its patients. It could be
extremely harmful to those who do not have a prescription, Hardes said.

"It can cause respiratory depression; if someone took a big enough dose,
they could stop breathing," Hardes said.

Taken with alcohol, as Bertoli did, the effects could be even greater.

"(Taking methadone and alcohol together) would increase effects of both of
the drugs," Hardes said.

Hardes said Bertoli's death was the first fatal methadone overdose to his
knowledge. He also said he has never heard of someone taking the drug
recreationally.

Bertoli was the third CSU student to die this semester. Samantha Spady, a
sophomore, died Sept. 5 of acute alcohol poisoning and David Karspeck, a
senior, was pronounced dead on Nov. 24 after drowning in the Student
Recreation Center pool. While alcohol was not involved in Karspeck's death,
it has been a factor in the deaths of five Colorado students this school year.