Methadone Deaths More Common

A study finds that U.S. deaths from methadone, the prescription drug often used to treat heroin addicts, almost quadrupled between 1999 and 2004.

The National Center for Health Statistics found that methadone was responsible for 13 percent of drug-related deaths in 2004, up from 4 percent in 1999, USA Today reported. Only heroin caused more overdose deaths in 2004.

Denise Curry of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said methadone has become easier to get because doctors have been quicker to prescribe it as a painkiller, especially as an alternative to addictive drugs like OxyContin.

It’s out there, it’s available, and it can be dangerous, Curry said.

She said methadone, which is also addictive, is much cheaper than similar drugs, costing very little when bought on prescription and $20 a dose on the street, USA Today reported.

Nicholas Reuter, a senior public health analyst at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said that one of the problems with methadone is that it stays in the body for about 59 hours but stops being effective as a painkiller after six. As a result, patients may take another dose more quickly than prescribed or doctors may over prescribe.