Methadone Deaths

Ken Raymond, Staff Writer

Published: July 27, 2008

In recent years, methadone has contributed to more Oklahoma deaths than any other drug.

"I think there are two reasons for that,” said Dr. Phil Kemp, a toxicologist with the state medical examiner’s office. “It is being prescribed more now for pain, whereas it used to be confined primarily to heroin abusers to try to wean them off of heroin.

“Now it’s being prescribed more for chronic pain. In the same sense, as more of it is prescribed, more of it is getting out onto the streets. ... That’s caused an increase in the number of cases we’re seeing here.”

Methadone has a longer half-life than other opioids, meaning it remains in the body long after its effects have worn off, Kemp said. Subsequent doses, especially those taken more frequently than prescribed, can stack up, sometimes fatally.

“It causes the breathing centers to shut down,” Kemp said. “You just slowly stop breathing.”

A bright spot in the drug data, though, is that methamphetamine-related deaths are on the decline — likely because of Oklahoma’s tough laws that limit access to meth precursors.

“Now they’re having to ship it (meth) in from out of state, from Mexico,” Kemp said. “That sort of traffic isn’t as cost effective as just setting up a lab in a trailer in the woods.”

Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant that can cause heart attacks.

“Another main feature of meth toxicity is temperature-related,” Kemp said. “The temperature control mechanism of the brain is affected, so you’ll see people coming into the ER (emergency room) with temperatures of 105, 106 — I recall seeing 109 degrees in the ER once. They overheat.”

Alcohol is in a separate category from the five leading addictive drugs listed in the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s report. Five-year comparison of Oklahoma deaths related to five leading addictive drugs. Numbers for 2006 are the latest available:

Drug	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Methadone	65	97	135	119	155
Hydrocodone	47	61	77	84	96
Oxycodone	42	50	37	61	76
Cocaine	34	41	58	51	56
Methamphetamine	33	52	52	71	40
Source: Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office

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