“Under a new law that took effect in January, a Methadone Death and Incident Review Team will convene for the first time Monday in Harrisburg to examine the circumstances surrounding methadone-related deaths, including car crashes and overdoses, and will review other problems with the synthetic opioid, the most widely used drug to treat heroin addiction.
Calling methadone “dangerous,” state Sen. Mike Stack, D-Philadelphia supports new regulations that would make methadone clinics partly responsible for crashes involving drivers who leave their facilities. He said he began pushing for methadone reform about two years ago after learning about constituents overdosing.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-methadone-clinic-crashes-20130302,0,3321816,full.story
Source: The Morning Call – March 2, 2013
Association is not the same as causality.
The presence of methadone is no proof that it is the sole or even main cause
of a person’s impairment. By virtue of what it is it may be a contributing factor when other substances are present. It is unusual for patients of a methadone clinic , who mostly attend daily and take their dose in front of a nurse, to be prescribed an “overdose ” ( great variations between indiviuals )of this most effective medication for opiate addiction. However, when found with other medications, prescribed or illicit, which taken alone in excess can cause impairment , such as pain-killers like vicodin or sedatives and tranquilisers like xanax or valium, then those who stigmatise addicts and their methadone treatment see fit to assume that it alone must be THE cause of impairment or for the untoward death of the patient.