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Methadone Abuse is Growing

Posted on: Monday, 26 February 2007, 03:00 CST

Methadone, used extensively to treat heroin addicts, is increasingly being prescribed as pain medication and abused by drug users, the Los Angeles Times said.

A potent opiate, methadone gained notoriety recently during news coverage of the death of model Anna Nicole Smith. A Los Angeles doctor had prescribed methadone to treat Smith's pain before she died in Florida Feb. 8.

The cause of death has not been determined. The doctor said his treatment was medically sound and appropriate, the newspaper said.

Smith's 20-year-old son died in the Bahamas last year after taking a lethal mixture of methadone and the anti-depressants, Zoloft and Lexapro.

Drug counselors and clinicians had been concerned well before the high-profile deaths about growing abuse of methadone on the streets, in group homes and even in middle schools, the newspaper reported. Patients and addicts have been mixing methadone with prescription drugs and illegal drugs.

Bruce Goldberger, director of toxicology at the University of Florida, who has been tracking methadone-related deaths, told the Times methadone abuse is absolutely the fastest growing drug problem.

Every year, we see hundreds of these deaths, and the numbers continue to increase, said Goldberger.

Source: United Press International

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