OVERALL DRUG FATALITIES DIP, BUT METHADONE DEATHS RISE

While drug deaths in Florida declined slightly during the first six months
of 2002, methadone is replacing painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone
as a choice for addicts, drug officials said Tuesday.

Statewide, 889 people died of drug overdoses from Jan. 1 through June 30,
compared with 936 in the last six months of 2001, according to a Florida
Department of Law Enforcement report.

Methadone deaths rose 36 percent, to 133 statewide, said James McDonough,
director of the Florida Office of Drug Control. People are becoming
frightened of using oxycodone -- better known by the brand name OxyContin --
and police are making progress in cutting off the supply, McDonough said.
Oxycodone deaths dropped 20 percent, to 112.

The report showed a slight drop in drug deaths in the Miami area, along with
a slight rise in the Fort Lauderdale area. Statistics are not kept on a
countywide basis, nor were complete death figures available for every
community.

Abuse of benzodiazepine, a family of stress- and anxiety-fighting drugs like
Xanax, caused 150 deaths during the six-month period, up three from the
previous six months. Cocaine claimed 180 lives, down 15, while heroin deaths
fell from 135 during the last six months of 2001 to 121 during the first six
months of this year.

Prevention and treatment programs and law enforcement crackdowns have
resulted in a decline in drug deaths in Miami over the past two years,
McDonough said.