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Sign up for GOOGLE and YAHOO news alerts using the KEY Word: Methadone, and you will see the numerous articles that are publicized daily revealing the reality of this drug. The crimes and deaths that are related to Methadone are tremendous as this drug leaves devastation in it's path. Posted April 18, 2008 ************************************************************************************************************************ GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2007
S 2
SENATE BILL 5
Judiciary ll (Criminal) Committee Substitute Adopted 4/4/07
Short Title: Methadone Distribution/2nd Degree Murder.
(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
February 12, 2007
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to add methadone and other schedule I and II drugs to cocaine and methamphetamine as controlled substances which, if unlawfully distributed and cause a death, allow for a charge of second degree murder.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 14‑17 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑17. Murder in the first and second degree defined; punishment.
A murder which shall be perpetrated by means of a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon of mass destruction as defined in G.S. 14‑288.21, poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or which shall be committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of any arson, rape or a sex offense, robbery, kidnapping, burglary, or other felony committed or attempted with the use of a deadly weapon shall be deemed to be murder in the first degree, a Class A felony, and any person who commits such murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment in the State's prison for life without parole as the court shall determine pursuant to G.S. 15A‑2000, except that any such person who was under 17 years of age at the time of the murder shall be punished with imprisonment in the State's prison for life without parole. Provided, however, any person under the age of 17 who commits murder in the first degree while serving a prison sentence imposed for a prior murder or while on escape from a prison sentence imposed for a prior murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment in the State's prison for life without parole as the court shall determine pursuant to G.S. 15A‑2000. All other kinds of murder, including that which shall be proximately caused by the unlawful distribution of opium or any synthetic or natural salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium, or cocaine or other any substance described in G.S. 90‑89 and G.S. 90‑90, G.S. 90‑90(1)d., or methamphetamine, when the ingestion of such substance causes the death of the user, shall be deemed murder in the second degree, and any person who commits such murder shall be punished as a Class B2 felon."
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective December 1, 2007, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FDA Proposes rule holding prescription drug companies less accountable then Federal law intended. Help stop this madness and control drug companies have over the FDA. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jan. 9, 2008 click on link for story ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jan.8, 2008 Driver goes to prison after killing two, while on Methadone Click on link for story ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Methadone overdose killed inmate : Posted Jan 8, 2008
A methadone overdose killed a House of Correction inmate on Thanksgiving, according to a report released Tuesday by county Medical Examiner Jeffrey Jentzen.
Alex Orlowski, 20, of Greendale was found dead in his bunk by fellow inmates about 7 a.m. on Thanksgiving. Orlowski didn't awaken when initially called for kitchen detail, according to his parents, Gary and Patti Orlowski.
The report said a correctional officer checked on Orlowski about 4 a.m. when other inmates complained about his snoring. The officer saw that Orlowski "was breathing so he didn't bother him," the report says.
Orlowski was found dead after other inmates returned from working the breakfast shift, the report says.
Some inmates said that Orlowski had been mixing methadone, a prescription drug intended for heroin addicts, with another drug he'd gotten from several inmates, Jentzen's report says.
Orlowski had been serving a three-month sentence on burglary and marijuana convictions.
The district attorney's office is investigating the source of Orlowski's fatal dose of methadone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Prescription drug crisis among teens
Published: 12/26/2007 4:55 AM
While the president is taking credit for an overall reduction in drug abuse among young people based on the results of the latest Monitoring The Future study, the study really shows that teenagers are turning away from marijuana and turning instead to dangerous prescription opioid narcotics like OxyContin (one in 20 high school seniors has taken it in the past year) and Vicodin (one in 10).
Kids are having no trouble finding them -- often right from the family medicine cabinet. Tragically, many kids assume these drugs are safe because they are prescribed by a doctor.
But these opium-derived narcotics are as addictive, and as deadly, as heroin.
The MTF study is consistent with other recent surveys on this dangerous trend. For example, the 2005 Under The Counter study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found new abuse of prescription opioids among teens was up an astounding 542 percent from 1992 to 2003. Addiction rates are soaring. Prescription opioids are now listed on more death certificates that either heroin or cocaine.
Parents ought to take note of this serious problem and talk to their kids -- often.
FDA also plays a crucial role in the solution to this problem. After all, it was the FDA that approved these drugs for widespread use.
How many more young people need to die before the FDA will do something to stop this epidemic? And when will our elected officials in Washington stop ignoring this serious problem?
Think about it -- more than 15 percent of our high school seniors have abused deadly narcotics in the past year alone. One in five seniors has abused prescription pain killers at some point in their young lives. You can help by contacting your elected officials in Washington.
Pete Jackson
Arlington Heights
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pharmacy Malpractice - This is a must read !!! ______________________________________________________________________________ NBC News 10 in Pennsylvania: Marti Hottenstein confronts the person who sold her son liquid Methadone (take home from a Methadone clinic) which caused the death of her son Karl Hottenstein. Please watch this video. ______________________________________________________________________________ CBS EARLY SHOW NEWS VIDEO'S ON METHADONE _____________________________________________________________________ Colleen McCarty, Investigative Reporter
I-Team: Methadone, Most Deadly Drug in Las Vegas
Updated: Nov 8, 2007 05:32 PM EST
There is a killer drug sweeping Clark County, but instead of back alley drug deals users are getting it from the pharmacy. According to the Clark County coroner, a drug designed to help addicts has claimed more lives than heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine.
More than 80 people in Clark County died from an overdose of methadone last year. And so far this year's numbers suggest more of the same.
A mother first brought it to the I-Team's attention when she wrote to us about the loss of her son. She hoped his death may help to save someone else's child.
These are Kristine Conger's screams recorded by a 911 operator moments after discovering her son, Matthew, cold in the bathroom:
"I reached for him, I reached for him and he was stiff. And I tried to pull on him and it was like he pulled back and I don't even know what happened. I wrapped myself. I was on the back of the toilet and I just took him to the ground and he was gone, he was gone, gone.
According to the Clark County coroner, Matthew died from an overdose of methadone, a drug most commonly known as a treatment for heroin addicts. But Matthew didn't use heroin and wasn't in treatment.
None of it made any sense to Kristine until she found something in his back pack a month after he died. "It's so hard to take in, because it wasn't him. It so wasn't him. I don't know why he took the methadone," she said.
Matthew had been getting high on prescription drugs that weren't his. Kristine suspects a patient at the Adelson Clinic illegally provided the methadone to her son. Whoever diverted the drug took care to cover their tracks.
Though patients in treatment take the majority of their methadone on site, every clinic in the valley is closed on Sunday, so federal and state regulations allow addicts a take home dose.
Lisa Jones is the bureau chief of the state agency that licenses methadone clinics. "Obviously, it's always a concern and in the situation you just described, there's no repairing that loss. But the system is really targeted at being aware of all of the potential pitfalls, recognizing that they occur and trying to put the pieces in place to prevent that from happening."
Despite that national research suggests methadone diversion is on the rise, not only from treatment centers, but from private physicians who prescribe the drug for pain. A state epidemiologist found of 156 methadone deaths in Clark County and only 13 were patients of a drug treatment facility. The rest either had a prescription or got it illegally, like Matthew.
Kristine Conger said, "The clinics, the professionals should be held accountable, whether it's obtained legally or illegally, for the deaths that are happening."
State licensing officials plan to investigate Matthew's overdose.
It's little comfort to Kristine, who lost her only child to a death. "Matthew was a good kid and he didn't know, he didn't know. I lost him and I would die a thousand times just for him to be living."
Matthew was one of those 80 people in Clark County who died last year from an overdose of methadone.
After initially agreeing to an interview with the I-Team, the Adelson Clinic cancelled it and decided not to comment.
Thursday at 5 p.m., the I-Team will look at the rise in methadone prescriptions and the corresponding increase in deaths.
E-mail your comments to Investigative Reporter Colleen McCarty.
______________________________________________________________________ From The Charlotte Observer Article Oct.30, 2007 Methadone Deaths Prompts North Carolina Investigation ______________________________________________________________________________ http://www.journalreview.com/articles/2007/10/19/news/03pain.txt
Mother continues to feel pain 15 months after son’s overdose
By: Patty Kesler
Posted: Saturday, October 20, 2007 12:35 AM EDT
As you read this, it has been 15 months since Aaron left us all.
We know, the devastation still is very much here. We are ordinary people who are your neighbors, co-workers, and friends. We loved Aaron and tried to be the best parents we could be.
Prescription drugs took him from us before his potential could be shared with the world as a firefighter. Some days the grief is unbearable. I am still reading articles about prescription drug deaths. People think since these drugs are legal, and prescribed by a doctor, that nothing can happen. We need to educate people of all ages about the dangers of “legal” drugs. They do kill.
Our Aaron didn’t have to die. If he knew he was playing with a “loaded gun” I would like to believe the ending would be different or there would not have been an ending. When it comes to methadone, which took Aaron’s life July 17, 2006, you really don’t know the quantity you are taking.
Unlike other drugs of abuse, the effect is slow and mild. In Aaron’s case he had been clean for a few months and had a reduced tolerance. A dose can stay in your body for up to 70 hours. A person will take “a dose” and feel if they took a little bit more they would feel “higher.” Then take a little more.
All this time it is building up in your body and by the time you feel the effects of the first dose, you’ve taken two more and it’s too late.
Every 20 minutes drugs take another life in this country. Every life affected by drug abuse is a tragic loss of promise and potential, leaving behind family and friends to suffer the darkness of grief. I know this all too well. When an individual first experiments with drugs, in this case, prescription drugs, they are looking for a “high.”
The demon of addiction is waiting. No one knows who he will pick or why he picks them. Drugs affect the brain and it is not known who will be susceptible. Addiction takes over the brain functions to create an overwhelming desire of uncontrolled cravings. It is not necessarily always a physical need, it is also a psychological need. The demon wants you to achieve the feeling of the first high, so you take more and more drugs thinking you will, but you will never get there.
Aaron was as addict. He couldn’t get away from the desire to get high. I did not realize this until he overdosed on hydrocodone January 24, 2006. That is when we addressed the problem every way we could. There were so many signs I didn’t see until after the fact. Why didn’t I see? Why didn’t I know?
Because you don’t want to see, you don’t want to know. There were missing pills, moved bottles. Where was the money from his job (he was sometimes paid in pills)? He had a hard time sleeping or he slept all the time. There were so many instances I never saw. You have to see, you have to acknowledge. Aaron never let me see the demon itself. He was never “loaded” in front of me. I want to think it was because he loved me so much.
Aaron went to our doctor when he got out of the hospital and started medication to curb the cravings. He went to counseling. He quit taking the drugs, as far as everyone knew. His withdrawal was pretty extreme — headaches, vomiting, sleeplessness, muscle aches, etc.
I know what he went through to a lesser degree because I started detoxing myself, with my doctor, March 1, 2007, in honor of Aaron’s 22nd birthday, March 19th. I was detoxing from hydrocodone and oxycontin, same as Aaron. They were prescribed to me because of arthritis in my lower back and both knees have been replaced. I was weaned off, Aaron just stopped and he was taking much more than I was. I know he must have been miserable. If I knew then what I know now, it would have been done differently. Even when you do all the right things, bad things can still happen.
I joined the A.H.E.A.D. coalition’s Prescription Drug Task Force to give my best efforts to try to prevent anyone from going through what my family is going through. We belong to a club that none of us ever wanted to join. We are parents and siblings of young people who died too soon because of drugs. I do not want this club to enlarge.
I want to and will talk to anyone. I have given a workshop at the 2006 State Pride Conference and would like to do more. It is said that if a person has a cause they should make it personal and share what they know.
Addiction is a disease acknowledged by the American Medical Association in 1956. It’s repercussions have been made aware for a long time. Once you open the door to the demon it’s too late. He takes over in an all consuming way. You no longer have control over your own life. If you don’t recognize it or do anything about it, the demon will destroy, or possibly take, your life. Don’t be in denial. It’s best not to even open the door. Aaron made a mistake, a fatal mistake, and you’re only allowed one.
Please visit Aaron’s site aaron-kesler.memory-of.com for his story and please light a candle so I can feel Aaron is helping.
________________________________________________________________ It amazes me that the FDA is basically funded by the drug companies. Why is this and why doesn't congress fix it? The FDA should be free of any influence from drug companies or manufacturers of drugs. - Gary, WA
Dr. Lurie answers:
As amazing as it is that fully 50% of the funding for the drug review divisions at the FDA comes from the very industry the agency is supposed to be regulating is the fact that the Congress just had a chance to fix the problem and failed to do so. Every five years, the legislation that authorizes these so-called user fees comes up for reconsideration. In exchange for paying the fees, the industry forces the FDA to meet certain review deadlines. But, instead of using the FDA's poor performance in the last five years (think Avandia, think Vioxx, think SSRI antidepressants) as a reason to free the agency from the industry's restrictions, the Congress deepened the user fee addiction by $87 million or 29%. Some of this increase will fund drug safety efforts, but a wiser course would have been to return the full funding of this crucial agency to the public purse. Funders typically have considerable influence over those they are funding, so why not make the agency accountable to the people it is supposed to be serving? Protecting the drug supply is a legitimate government function and should therefore be funded by taxpayers.
________________________________________________________________ The FDA'S Inadequate Response to the IOM (Institute of Medicine) from the New England Journal of Medicine Posted: Sept. 9, 2007 ________________________________________________________________ WHO'S JUDGING OUR DRUGS? This is a must read article. posted: Sept. 7, 2007 ____________________________________________________________________
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