The majority of drug overdose deaths in eastern Kentucky are caused by Methadone. Coroners in the area cite the drug as the worst of all drugs, and the clinics just keep pumping it out to the public.
In Perry County the preferred mixture for fatality is Methadone and Xanax. Deputy Coroner Clayton Brown cites those two drugs in combination as the leading cause of overdose death.
In Knott County last year there were 21 drug related deaths. Five of those were murders, two of them were car wrecks, and 14 were overdose deaths. Coroner Jeff Blair said 85% of the deaths were Methadone related.
Leslie County Coroner Gregg Walker cited Methadone as that county's leading killer, especially when mixed with other substances.
The clinics that dispense Methadone make a lot of money in doing so. Each patient is charged $85 per week, in advance. The cost of enough Methadone to give a patient 100 mg per day for seven days is $4.90, not a bad mark up, and it's legal.
The concern over internet drug sales in eastern Kentucky is valid, but the lack of concern over the Methadone Clinics here is ironic in light of the deaths directly attributed to the drug.
Methadone is a killer because it is so easily accessible. It is regulated by Kentucky's department of substance abuse whereas all other drugs are regulated by the DEA.
Federal guidelines suggest the Methadone patient be given from 20 to 50 mg per day with the patient being brought off the drug in six months. Patients in eastern Kentucky are allowed to stay on doses of over 100 mg per day for over a year, and more in some cases. The Methadone Clinics also allow patients to take days worth of the drug home with them.
The take home doses frequently end up on the street. The going price on the street is $1.00 per mg., or $100 for a 100 mg dose. The average Methadone patient can skip a day's dose easily with no bad withdrawal symptoms.
At $85.00 per week Methadone is attractive to drug users who have been paying that much and more per day for their dope, but the potential effect is much more expensive as you can't really put a price on a life. Still, the clinics keeping pumping the stuff into the community, and people keep dying from its use and abuse.
If Kentucky's Legislature ever gets to the point where they agree on a budget, perhaps they can take a look at the state's leading unregulated killer. It would be interesting to know how many, if any, of our Legislators are themselves patients at the Methadone Clinics. That would explain why at times they seem so dopey.
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