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I am writing on behalf of HARMD Inc. (Helping America Reduce Methadon Deaths) www.HARMD.org. We are the families of methadone victims throughout the Country.

On June 24th 2006 I lost my fiancé (Ron) to this deadly drug prescribed by a physician with a combination of other medications that acted as additives to the Methadone. He had knee surgery and became addicted to the percocet he was prescribed. He checked himself into Greenleaf Center in Valdosta, GA for detoxification. Upon entering the facility he was drug tested and did not come up positive for opiates (he had stopped taking the percocet 4 days before entering the facility). On the fourth day in detox he died sometime between 2am and 1pm in the afternoon (he was never checked on in all of those hours). The night before he died he was complaining of migraines and vomiting, apparently the staff thought he was still experiencing withdrawals and was not concerned about these symptoms. The symptoms of methadone toxicity mimic withdrawal symptoms physicians and staff must be very cognizant of the complex properties and metabolization of methadone. There were many errors made in my fiancé’s death including the fact that he was given numerous amounts of additive medications such as benzodiazepines. He had only been taking percocet for about 4 months and according to the DSM IV he wouldn’t be an appropriate candidate methadone maintenance treatment. I'm not sure if Ron was given methadone for the sole purpose for detoxification from opiates or if it was a combination of pain relief associated with numerous surgeries and opiate addiction. Methadone is difficult to properly dose no matter what reason it's being used for and primarily relies on the patient’s indications of how they feel (assumedly they are being monitored). There are ways to make the administration of methadone safer, it's just a matter of putting the focus on this drug and the deadly consequences when administered incorrectly or not monitored. Ron was 32 years old and has 2 children from a previous marriage that now do not have a father.

Methadone is now the #2 Killer Drug in the U.S. This is a legal drug that has been thought to be safe for the past 40 years. Only recently when its use became approved for pain management patients has the cardio toxic risks emerged. Previously methadone has been used exclusively for replacement therapy for heroin patients and death was thought to be an effect of the accumulation of many years of drug abuse. With the surge in pain medication misuse and abuse more patients are being referred to methadone clinics and physicians treating pain who believe the myth that methadone is safer or non addictive because of it’s use with weaning addicts from heroin. Methadone is more addictive then any other pain medication including heroin and because of it’s extremely long half life, cardio toxic risks, numerous fatal drug interactions, dosages based on tolerance, and small margin of error. Up until Nov 2006 the government and pharmaceutical companies have been suppressing the numerous health and fatality risks related to methadone.

there are between 800,000 & 900,000 (some stats give diff numbers) heroin addicts in the U.S and 1,881 people died from heroin in the U.S. in 2004.

there are 200,000 people on methadone for drug treatment and I don't have the number of people on it for pain but even if we double the 200,000 and assume it's 400,000 total people on methadone there were 3,849 deaths in 2004

It looks like the "gold standard" is killing more then the drug its supposed to save people from!!!!

Every day 10.9 people die from Methadone (according to 2004 stats)


We (the families of methadone victims) are requesting new laws surrounding who can prescribe Methadone, clinic rules and regulations as well as stiffer penalties for those caught selling their take home doses. The whole methadone maintenance system needs an overhauling. We cannot continue to allow a legal medication to be killing more people then the illegal drugs. Our government cannot be allowed to use tax dollars to fund their legal drug dealing operations.

We are asking government agencies to enact stricter guidelines in prescribing methadone for any reason. It must be mandatory that all doctors be certified and trained in the pharmacology of methadone; inpatient stays must be required during induction to methadone; all staff be extensively trained in monitoring methadone patients for symptoms of toxicity. Clinic patients should be tested weekly for legal and illegal drugs that are taken with methadone to get “ hi gh” or experience “euphoria” such as benzodiazepines, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana etc… and face severe consequences or mandatory detoxification from the methadone program after 3 dirty urines. Selling of take home doses must result in termination from methadone program permanently throughout the U.S. When presenting inebriated at clinic, clinic should also document such activity as well as prevent client from driving. Take home doses for all patients receiving methadone should be eliminated thus preventing the risk of diversion or precautions such as pill safe should be implemented. [www.thepillsafe.com]

Current statistics show that nearly 4000 people a year die from methadone. These deaths are mostly happening to pain management and detoxification patients’ wit hi n the first 10 days of taking initial dose. Most of these deaths are related to methadone prescribed with other medications that react as additives with the methadone. Diversion of methadone is a serious problem because it lands t hi s most deadly drug on streets. Statistics also state that methadone is contributing to more deaths nationwide then heroin and only second to cocaine deaths.

The potential of abuse, diversion, and overdose to new patients being prescribed methadone is overwhelming. The unique properties of methadone, it's long half life, and it's negative interaction with numerous drugs make it an optimal choice as a last result treatment for chronic pain and addiction.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely

Melissa Zuppardi

Yep.I have posted it before.
How many addicts of prescription drugs exist??The media never speaks of this,or of addicts or drugs,or how we have lost the war on drugs."Legal" or otherwise.Giving people Oxy,VERY addicting,for back pain,or other ailments, when it was supposed to be for cancer patients.
That is one reason why there now exists much older people who are now addicts.
I hope you do not become silent on this subject,it is screwing up too many lives.

Cindy---Oxycontin is a wonderful drug when used as intended. There are a lot of elderly people in terrible pain from all kinds of conditions other than cancer. I do not want these people to be condemned to spending their remaining years in agoney because people go overboard with restrictions. If you are 65--70--80yrs. old and you do become addicted to pain medication-----so what???? I do not think you need to worry about this group of people holding you up for drug money.Innocent people should not be forced to live in horrible pain because of what bad people do with a drug they have obtained illegally. A friend's husband had to go buy "street drugs" for her elderly mother after the girl sent from Passport stole her mother's pain meds. The Dr, absolutely refused to write another prescription ahead of time---afraid of being reported. Her mother had crippling osteoporosis in her spine and was LITERALLY screaming and crying all night long in pain--I was there--it was HORRIBLE. That is when my friend's 56 yr. old husband went out looking to buy illegal pain meds for the first and only time in his life. {After that incident they only left enough pain meds for one day at her mother's house.} If this country wants to put in place so many restrictions that Drs. are put off or afraid to prescribe pain meds because of the hassle involved,----then it is time to at LEAST leagalize euthanasia. People in legitimate pain deserve relief---especially the elderly. Like I said before---so what if you are a 75yr. old oxycontin addict---what is left of your life should be worth living. Please don't twist my words around either--I am not condoning allowing 40 yr. olds to become addicted. That is where a Dr.'s professional judgement should come into play. Someone who is elderly and obviosly only has a few years to live should get all the pain meds they need--even if they get addicted.

I agree Dr.s need to regulate these drugs better,and people need to learn to keep quiet about what scripts their given.Crooks wouldn't know otherwise.

Hello, we are here today representing people who have seen their lives positively altered and sometimes saved thanks to Methadone.
Before we even begin, we would like to extend our heart-felt condolences to all of the families who have lost a loved one due to the diversion of Methadone. We are not here to put down anything that the members of HARMD have done. Not at all. We are simply here to share with everyone something that has recently come to light.
We are simply here to see that the truth is told.
Although some members of HARMD and some Methadone patients have had differences, there is one thing that they have agreed upon, and that is the diversion of Methadone must be investigated to find where it is coming from. We want everyone to understand that we have sat quietly these past months while the organization known as HARMD have spoken about diversion of Methadone, and stating that the diversion is most definitely coming from the Methadone clinics and/or the chronic pain Methadone patients, either directly or indirectly. And because of those beliefs, they have been working to have some rights taken away, including the right of take-home medication, which is earned by the patient. If this earned right was taken from the clinic patients, parts of their lives would be halted, having to come to the clinic every single day, never being able to leave town with their families, nor planning a family vacation, and for many, always spending holidays at home instead of away at relatives homes.
We knew in order to prove them wrong about Methadone diversion, we would need some documented research by an undisputable source.
And we found it!
His name is David Joranson, and he is the Director of the Pain and Policy Studies Group, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin.
Although Mr. Joranson is extremely easy man to speak with, we can't believe that some of his research and studies concerning the Diversion of certain opiates could have made him very happy. For example, in November of 2005, he released an exploratory study which revealed that within a 4 year period, from 2000 through 2003, nearly a HALF OF A MILLION doses of Methadone were diverted, and that only included 22 states, which is only 53% of the U.S. Population. No need to rub your eyes, you read it right. And where were these 454,503 doses of Methadone diverted from? Well, from an important but mostly overlooked diversion source which includes theft, including armed robberies, night break-ins, and employee and customer pilferage. You see, the Controlled Substance Act makes thefts of controlled substances from Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registrants a federal crime, and requires pharmacists, manufacturers, and distributors to report significant thefts and losses. If that was the number three years ago, can you IMAGINE what it would be now?

Mr. Joranson Stated:
"Diversion of this type occurs at places in the drug supply chain above the level of prescribing,dispensing and patient use, and involves individual and organized criminal activity by persons who aren't licensed or registered to handle controlled substances, and therefore would not be detected by programs that monitor prescribing."

"We conclude that pain medications,regardless of schedule, are being stolen from the drug distribution chain prior to being prescribed,
contributing to their illicit availability, abuse,and associated morbidity and mortality.National discussion about pain medication abuse
and diversion should be better informed by reliable information about whether abused drugs are coming from those registered to handle
controlled substances lawfully or from those who engage in criminal activities."

"If we accept uncritically that drug diversion stems only from prescriptions, we risk distorting our view of the medical profession and patients through a lens of substance abuse, which further weakens physicians' desire to treat pain and worsens patient access to pain care. We must eliminate the impact of illegal actions on law-abiding physicians and patients."

So, where do we go from here? Surely, we should all want to step back and perhaps take a different look at what we're seeing at the Methadone Clinics as well as the from the Chronic Pain Patients.
Will this make HARMD take a second look? We surely hope so, because tunnel vision helps no one. Seeing the whole picture in a different light sometimes makes for a whole new picture.

By:

Rita F.
www.medicalassistedtreatment.com

Donna K.
www.pain-mmt.org
[maps.invisionzone.com]

Please Note: Any and all verification you need help finding, please feel free to email us at painadvocate@hotmail.com

Pain Advocate----Thank God for the Voice of Reason. These people that want to severely restrict patients access to pain medications fail to remember---------YOU----- or a loved one -----could be sentenced to a life of agony someday and need these types of medications yourselves.