METHADONE, ALCOHOL A DEADLY COMBINATION

LONG BEACH - Brian Cuevas was 21 when he died of a drug overdose during a
Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans this year. The 2001 graduate of Long
Beach High School didn't know he was risking his life when he ingested
methadone and drank alcohol.

Cuevas apparently got the drug from a heroin addict in New Orleans who was
supposed to be taking the drug to help him fight his addiction.

Law enforcement officials say a lot of people are taking these drugs and
don't know anything about the risks involved. Cuevas risked his life and lost.

After her son's death in March, Donna Cuevas warned others to consider what
they are doing before taking these illicit drugs. In her son's case, she
said, there was a chance for him to survive if those around him knew to
take him to a hospital to get an antidote that is available to reverse the
effects of a methadone overdose. Brian Cuevas didn't go to a hospital.
Instead, he simply fell asleep and never woke up again.

"Brian didn't want to die," Cuevas said. "He just didn't know it could kill
him."

Cuevas was an avid fisherman, an athlete in high school and worked in a
car-detailing business at the time of his death. He wanted to one day own
his own shop.

Cuevas told task force members that she suspected something was going on
right before his death, when she asked him if he was taking anything. She
already knew from previous conversations that her son sometimes smoked
marijuana and drank alcohol. This time, her son told her he was taking a
painkiller for a sports injury. After his death, she learned the painkiller
was methadone.

Methadone hydrochloride is a synthetic narcotic painkiller that is supposed
to be used for severe pain or treatment of heroin addiction. It is a
Schedule II controlled substance that is addictive and can cause death,
especially when it's mixed with alcohol and other drugs.

An antidote given within an hour of ingestion can prolong life.