JAMA REPORT: METHADONE DEATHS ARE ON THE RISE

Prescription drugs now account for more deaths in North Carolina than illegal
drugs, says Kay Sanford, an epidemiologist who works for the state.

In the five-year period ending in 2001, the number of deaths from unintentional
drug overdoses increased more than 100 percent, largely due to the escalating
misuse and abuse of prescription narcotics -- methadone in particular, Sanford
says.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed autopsy reports from
North Carolina for the period of 1997-2001. The results of the study were
published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association

The study found that between 1997 and 2001, 1,325 North Carolina residents lost
their lives from an unintentional drug overdose.

Ninety of those deaths were explicitly due to the unintentional overdose of
oxycodone, Sanford says.

But the drug methadone is actually responsible for more prescription drug
deaths in North Carolina than oxycodone. Researchers found 198 deaths
attributed to methadone use during the five-year period studied.

Methadone is most widely known as a treatment for opiate addiction. But doctors
are prescribing methadone for pain management more frequently these days,
Sanford says, in part because of concerns about OxyContin. Methadone has fewer
side effects than other narcotic pain medications and it's relatively
inexpensive.

Between 1997 and 2001, unintentional deaths related to methadone increased
six-fold. Only four percent of methadone overdose deaths were among patients
enrolled in opiate treatment programs.

While methadone is an effective analgesic, it's tricky to prescribe, Sanford
says. It requires a lot of interaction between doctor and patient to get the
dosage right.

Methadone does not give the user a high, Sanford says, so if it's being used
recreationally, the user may be disappointed and increase the dose, which can
lead to problems. Because it takes longer for the analgesic property of
methadone to kick in -- and because methadone remains in the system after the
analgesic effect wears off -- methadone users are at increased risk of taking
too much.