Special "Methadone Symposium" seeks solutions to rising overdose problems

This was taken from a Oklahoma news stations website at http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/63010777.html?storySection=story

my comments will be in red and we not part of the original article. They are my personal opinion only.

ARDMORE, OK -- Prescription drug deaths in Oklahoma have spiked more than 70% over the last decade, but it's one prescription medication in particular, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says, has caused a drastic increase in overdoses recently -- Methadone. Shelby Levins reports.

Methadone has been used for more than 70 years. The prescription medication was developed overseas in the 1930's. It’s commonly used to help with addiction treatment and pain management. But it's the deadly abuse of the drug that's causing concern. And that's what sprred the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics to host a symposium on find ways to prevent the misuse of the drug.

Last year we had 608 overdose deaths in Oklahoma, of those 110 were associated with Methadone,” Darrell Weaver, the director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, explained. ASSOCIATED with methadone....see that word? What they don't say is that most of these deaths are because of people who mixed other medications with methadone so it wasn't because of the methadone specifically that caused their deaths. Also, in the few that did have only methadone in their system, it was because of people who had NO business taking it in the first place and had no tolerance to opiates.

He says it’s those statistics that prompted the state agency to host Wednesday's "Methadone Symposium." He hopes the collaboration between law enforcement officials and health experts with help save lives.

"The deaths are climbing - we have to do something about it. One death in Oklahoma is one too many, but we're having way too many,” Weaver said.

According to statistics presented by OBN, in 2008 Methadone was the third leading cause of drug overdose deaths, behind only Oxycodone and hydrocodone.

Weaver says it's the long lasting affects of methadone that can be so dangerous, saying it can remain in someone's body for up to 59 hours.

"A person would maybe get more (Methadone), and because of (Methadon's) shelf-life in the body, it's still in the body, so therefore it gives rise to problems,” Weaver explained.

But because of that long shelf-life, Methadone can be very effective in managing chronic pain and treating addictions.

Shandy Shubin, works with Southern Oklahoma Treatment Services. Her outpatient treatment program prescribes the drug to help people kick their addiction to opiates.

"We don't just write a prescription and send the medications out. They actually come into our facility on a daily basis,” Shubin explained.

Shubin says she's glad to come together and work with all sides to combat the rising methadone problem. Weaver says people who abuse Methadone, come with all kinds of schemes and scams to get the drug, but the challenge is balancing the medical community needs with policies for public safety.

"We have to find this balance between the issues that we have, the overdoses and all these public safety issues, and balance that with keeping people out of pain and supporting medical professionals,” Weaver said. YES! I agree with this statement 100%. There has got to be a balance between the two issues. We know how hard it is to misuse methadone when we get it from a clinic with all their rules and guidelines we have to follow (yes, it CAN be done but you know what I mean). It is the people who are getting methadone from pain mgt docs who do not make them accountable in any way for the methadone they are getting that can sell it out on the streets and mix it with other medications a whole lot easier than those of us who go to a MMT clinic. Between call backs to make sure we still have the amount of meds we are suppose to have and drug screens to make sure we aren't mixing it with anything we aren't suppose to, it makes it a lot harder than for those who are not held accountable at all.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics adds the Methadone problem isn't one just for law enforcement agencies, or health professionals, it's one everyone needs to be aware of.