Report Shows Methadone Leading Cause Of Overdose Deaths

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Posted: 2:41 PM Jun 6, 2007
Last Updated: 5:01 PM Jun 6, 2007
Reporter: Danielle Morgan
Email Address: danielle.morgan@wymtnews.com

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Report Shows Methadone Leading Cause Of Overdose Deaths - Danielle Morgan Reports

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Out of nearly 500 overdose deaths in Kentucky last year, the state medical examiner's annual report says more than 40 percent of the autopsies showed the pain killer, Methadone was the leading cause. Other officials say that number may be misleading and Methadone shouldn't be the lone target.

A Louisville man was arrested Tuesday for trying to deal Methadone in Clay County where the sheriff and law enforcement officials with Operation UNITE say abuse of the drug is on the rise there and across the region.

"Methadone seems to be a drug we're purchasing from dealers that we used to get OxyContin and other drugs from," said Paul Hayes with Operation UNITE.

Task Force Manager Paul Hayes says OxyContin isn't being prescribed as often by doctors, making it harder to get and when abusers can't afford the OxyContin’s that sell for up to $160 for one pill, they tend to use Methadone, a drug they can buy on the street for one hundred dollars less. He says even if the drug is being more abused, most state officials seem to agree that Methadone alone is not in fact the cause of overdose deaths.

"It's not necessarily quote, they've took too many, as it is the dangerous combination of the drugs," said Clay County Sheriff Kevin Johnson.

"Particularly those deaths I think will be Xanax and Methadone or a mixture of Xanax and other drugs and it's a deadly potion," Hayes said.

Officials in the state medical examiner's office say other drugs may have been detected in the deaths in 2006, but Methadone was the dominate drug.

According to Kentucky's electronic reporting system, KASPER, it's certainly not the most prescribed drug. The top three counties in East Kentucky: Perry, Laurel and Floyd Counties had just over three thousand prescriptions of Methadone combined in 2005 while the number of scripts of Hydrocodone, a less powerful pain killer, was more than 38,000 in Floyd County alone.

The KASPER system shows Hydrocodone and Xanax together make up 50 percent of all prescribed controlled drugs in Kentucky for five years.

The following is a complete list of how your county ranks in the number of Methadone and Hydrocodone prescriptions:
County # of Methadone # of Hydrocodone
JEFFERSON 7,959 265,563
FAYETTE 4,074 77,358
KENTON 1,887 38,212
MADISON 1,815 22,522
PERRY 1,676 22,829
JESSAMINE 1,650 17,383
CAMPBELL 1,310 32,841
LAUREL 1,264 31,924
BOONE 1,244 31,983
FLOYD 1,086 38,437
PULASKI 1,023 26,440
BREATHITT 1,002 10,379
CLARK 969 16,215
WHITLEY 921 49,897
WARREN 906 40,590
GARRARD 881 6,325
MCCRACKEN 868 32,104
LINCOLN 848 10,247
POWELL 811 8,345
FRANKLIN 795 17,741
HARDIN 775 25,358
HARLAN 689 17,860
MONTGOMERY 686 12,096
ROWAN 660 7,476
ROCKCASTLE 652 6,738
SCOTT 626 13,693
BOYLE 576 10,984
JOHNSON 554 15,652
NELSON 551 19,115
CLAY 523 23,393
GRAVES 494 20,276
MAGOFFIN 491 9,504
BULLITT 480 15,519
MERCER 467 8,249
WAYNE 448 14,334
BOURBON 440 7,459
LESLIE 436 7,771
TAYLOR 427 9,385
KNOX 416 22,926
ESTILL 411 4,837
WOODFORD 395 6,938
HENDERSON 392 19,860
GREENUP 387 18,199
LEE 381 7,329
PIKE 375 48,150
WOLFE 364 4,962
BELL 341 30,768
HOPKINS 323 21,502
CARTER 319 6,982
KNOTT 316 10,397
OWSLEY 316 4,958
DAVIESS 314 16,634
MARSHALL 309 18,371
MARION 300 7,984
GRANT 296 10,448
LETCHER 289 22,252
NICHOLAS 272 2,801
ANDERSON 271 8,029
CALLOWAY 262 14,271
BATH 258 5,155
CLINTON 257 9,283
BRECKINRIDGE 254 7,075
SHELBY 245 14,436
MCCREARY 242 15,368
MEADE 235 5,050
CHRISTIAN 230 19,382
MASON 228 3,980
MENIFEE 224 2,583
JACKSON 223 4,965
OHIO 221 10,227
ALLEN 212 7,877
LAWRENCE 212 6,444
BARREN 207 16,931
FLEMING 205 5,323
MARTIN 199 10,703
OLDHAM 191 11,903
LOGAN 190 9,616
CASEY 182 7,070
HARRISON 182 2,672
MORGAN 182 2,857
BRACKEN 170 2,846
GRAYSON 167 14,903
SPENCER 167 6,258
MUHLENBERG 157 16,902
LEWIS 147 6,291
LIVINGSTON 143 7,636
TRIGG 143 6,271
BOYD 138 11,270
RUSSELL 137 4,066
CRITTENDEN 130 6,211
CALDWELL 128 7,506
PENDLETON 127 3,467
ADAIR 122 5,826
UNION 116 6,623
WASHINGTON 116 1,439
LYON 102 5,853
METCALFE 93 3,526
WEBSTER 92 7,802
MONROE 91 11,298
CARLISLE 90 2,057
EDMONSON 89 5,871
TODD 87 3,384
CARROLL 73 3,949
HENRY 71 5,554
CUMBERLAND 65 2,061
SIMPSON 64 9,412
BALLARD 63 4,090
FULTON 59 4,606
BUTLER 57 5,722
OWEN 55 2,976
LARUE 52 1,410
ELLIOTT 51 2,037
GALLATIN 50 3,042
ROBERTSON 47 440
HICKMAN 43 2,027
GREEN 42 985
HART 38 4,406
MCLEAN 37 2,561
TRIMBLE 32 2,279
HANCOCK 25 1,732
Totals 58,268 1,736,290

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: Kay on Oct 1, 2007 at 05:03 PM
Yes, I know that we as a Country have drug problem's, but, for the Lady in Campton she needs to know what got half of the people on these mef's in the first place people don't set in judgement for those people out there needs HELP not those who put them down. thank you

Posted by: I need it Location: Clay County, KY on Jun 11, 2007 at 09:56 PM
For so many people Addiction is shameful, humiliating and degrading. People who have an addiction got it from somewhere. I was one of those people who became addicted through my Doctor. When he got through giving me numerous scripts over a three year period, I never knew my problems had just began. I lost everything including my job, health, my kids and wife and almost my own LIFE. Thank goodness I found the methadone program. I had tried everything, nothing worked until I went into the methadone program. I have been clean for over 3 years have a good job and was very lucky to get my family back. I now have money in my pocket. You can ask my family I would be dead right now If I had not gone to treatment at the clinic. I am grateful there was something that could help me break the habit the one Individual I trusted in,helped me to create. little did I know what doctor knows best is not what you learn as a patient. It is so much worse.

Posted by: JS Location: SE KY on Jun 11, 2007 at 09:35 PM
I have worked with Addiction for over 15 years and I came from abstinence based background, One day I went to work in a Methadone Clinic. I have to tell you there are so many people,friends, daughters sons and parents who would not be alive today if there wasn't this medication.yes, these clinics have experienced negativity such as accidents, overdoses and people who just shouldn't be there. No medication assisted treatment program is going to be 100 % error proof and there will always be the drug seekers and doctor shoppers. I must say after 11 years of working with opiate addicts I see how these clinics have been an asset to communities in the decrease in crimes, robbery, DUI and most of all people being able to live normal lives, to work and be parents or families, just like the person who has to live on meds daily for a heart condition or Hypertension. Addiction is a disease and it can happen to nurses, doctors, lawyers, policemen, moms, dads, sons and daughters. If it has ever crossed you then you would probably be grateful there is a medication that can treat your loved ones disease. So many people in the community are in fear of supporting this treatment, because of how they would be looked at in the community but think about the pain treatment centers that give 90 Oxycontin a month for a back injury for a year and cut them off cold turkey, without even educating them on the addiction of the medication. People shall we educate our own professionals on what they can be responsible for rather than criticize the helpers in the community. What would thousands of people do without this treatment? Take a look at where the ethadone is coming from and then ask what is causing all the deaths in our communities?

Posted by: robbie Location: salyersville on Jun 7, 2007 at 05:00 PM
As I look through this list of counties and their rankings I am forced to wonder why so many eastern KY counties with smaller populations than their central, northern, and western KY counterparts lead in the number of prescriptions per capita what is the reason for this difference? I know that drug abuse reaches across all socio economic backgrounds, however I believe that the reason for the high numbers in eastern KY is because a great number of this population lives in a welfare state. Drug pusher doctors can not be excused from this problem as well. I wonder if these physicians are too worried about their next mercedes or jag to consider the welfare of the patients in their trust.

Posted by: Nancy Location: Campton on Jun 7, 2007 at 04:34 PM
It should me fairly easy to see why we have such a drug problem. I would like to see a law passed that required all pharmacies (Doctors) to publish in the paper how many of these addictive drugs they prescribe each week. I wish they could even put the names of those who recieved them but I know that would be against the law. Maybe if people ever get serious enough and loose enough of their family to drugs something will be done. That would be a start. (Concerned about the drug problem ).

Posted by: jon Location: salyersville on Jun 7, 2007 at 07:37 AM
we are in a rat race and the rats are ahead by a nose a week ago sheriff bob jorden found a family who had 4 members that had filled prescriptions for over 600 methadone 10 mg pills the same day from the same doctor in lexington.why would anyone give that much medication to one person .if you took as prescribed it would be fatal.this doctor should be charged.it came to light when a 20 year old magoffin county boy allmost died from these pills bought from this family.good job sheriff jordon.

Posted by: Angie Location: Lexington on Jun 7, 2007 at 05:33 AM
I'm shocked to see the numbers so high in some of the Eastern, KY counties such as Perry,Breathitt,& Floyd counties. The numbers seem really high compared to the population of the area.

Posted by: AC Location: southeast kentucky on Jun 6, 2007 at 05:45 PM
i have little tolerance for drug addicts in general. but i have even less tolerance for the physicians that are doling these prescriptions out like they're candy. why doesn't the gov't hold these drs. accountable? it's quite irresponsible and despicable.

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