Methadone: One Pill Can Kill You

“I knew there had to be something that he had taken,? said mother Janet Janes. ?Then, when his friend listed the drugs that they had gotten a hold of, I was in shock. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Janes is talking about her 19 year old son, Christopher Straughn. He died in his sleep last April.

The cause of death surprised everyone who knew him: Methadone Poisioning.

His mom said he was not a drug addict or a regular drug user.

“It was an accident. It truly was,? she said ?It seems like such a fluke.”

According to Chris’ mom, the night he died he and a friend went to Desert Hot Springs and bought a packet of prescription drugs.

They each randomly took two.

The drugs turned out to be Oxycontrin, Saboxin, Xanax and Methadone.

The Coroner’s report says Chris had traces of Xanax and Methadone in his system: a deadly combination.

Methadone deaths increased 600% from 1999 to 2005. According to the NCOH, it was the misuse of the drug that led to that staggering statistic.

?It has the potency about 9 times of Morphine and 6 times of Oxycontin,? said Dr. Roland Reinhart. ?It’s a drug I like to call the molasses of pain killers.”

Reinhart prescribes Methadone to some of his patients who suffer from chronic pain. He said it should only be prescribed to those who don’t have other options.

“The biggest problem with Methadone is it has a very long direction of action. So, if people are taking it for the wrong reason, and get high, they take Methadone and don’t feel effects, then taking other drug on top of it will have compounding effect that could lead to respiratory depression and death,” he said.

Methadone was developed in the 1930s in Germany. Doctors used it as a long acting pain-killer for soldiers who lost their limbs or suffered from horrific pain.

The duration of the drug is so long when taking repeated doses, it continually accumulates in the body.

In the 70s and still now, Heroin users take it to help kick their habit. It blocks the pain of the craving, and makes it less painful to detox.

“If you use it correctly, it’s very safe,? said Reinhart. ?If you’re taking it out of a pill bowl, well, it’s probably not a great idea.”

While Janet Janes continues to mourn the death of her son, she continues to study up on the drug that took his life.

The fact that methadone is a common street drug, most likely stolen from a medicine cabinet, makes her mad and she’s determined to make a difference.

“I want people to be aware. I didn’t know. I had no clue about Methadone and how dangerous it was.,? she said. “[Chris] had a great sense of humor, he loved to laugh and loved to love, it just doesn’t seem right.?

Janes wants to get the word out about Methadone.

She’s working with other parents to try and set up a program to talk to schools about prescription drugs and she’s talking with Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs), too.