Methadone prescriptions are on the rise and so too is the commonality of methadone overdose and death, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). There are two reasons that methadone is prescribed: pain management and opiate drug addiction maintenance. It was rarely used for either purpose until the early ‘80s when it was more commonly prescribed as a drug addiction treatment and OxyContin, its chemical cousin, was the prescription of choice for pain management. This quickly changed: the latest report from the NDIC says that methadone prescriptions have increased 715 percent in five years.

The reasons for this astronomical shift are two: cost (of course) and the alarming rise in OxyContin overdose and death. To handle the extra demand, manufacturers are shipping 6.6 million grams of methadone each year, up from 1.9 million five years earlier. Unfortunately, methadone stays in the body for more than 24 hours which can lead to overdose very easily if dosing is not closely monitored.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report shows a 390 percent increase in methadone overdose fatalities over a five year period. Though the number of deaths from methadone overdose is smaller than that of other opiate painkiller overdose deaths, its rate of increase is significantly higher. Morphine, OxyContin and Vicodin overdose deaths have increased 90 percent over a five year period.

Tom Riley is the spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. According to Riley, prescription painkillers are more popular than marijuana for first-time users and those who experiment with drugs on a casual basis.  He says, “The larger story is the widespread abuse of prescription painkillers in America. The abuse and misuse of prescription drugs is far more dangerous and far more widespread than most Americans realize.”

High OxyContin abuse is most common in West Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina, but methadone abuse and overdose is quickly taking its place in those states and Ohio, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

How do we handle this epidemic? Suboxone detox and Suboxone treatment. As easy to procure as an opiate painkiller, a prescription for Suboxone is far less harmful and will allow you to avoid withdrawal symptoms as you break your drug addiction. Meditox handles each request for a buprenorphine (Suboxone) prescription on a case by case basis, but those who are addicted to opioid-based drugs like OxyContin, methadone, Vicodin and morphine will benefit from a Suboxone treatment.

The Indian street “Nashewali Gali” translates into English as “Addiction Alley.” It’s here that many of India’s junkies shoot up at night and where, during the day, they slide behind a dingy striped curtain to trade their dirty needles for clean ones. The needle exchange here is phase one of an initiative to prevent the transmission of blood born diseases among injection drug users.

A controversial effort anywhere, needle exchanges in India are an especially divisive issue. But the 5.7 million Indians infected with HIV/AIDS make dealing with the problem of disease transmission a high priority issue.

Sujatha Rao is the director of India’s National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) and says, “Our priority for the new phase of the AIDS control program has shifted to take in the rise of injecting drug users. We are already scaling up programs for harm reduction and to wean away users from illicit drugs.”

Trading dirty needles for new ones is one way to attack the problem of HIV at its root. Injection drug users account for about 10.1 percent of those infected in India, with most IDUs addicted to heroin and other morphine derivatives. Treating drug addiction would be an even better way to stop the disease from being passed and helping those who already have to remain healthy for as long as possible. Treating opiate addiction with Suboxone treatment is a simple and cost-effective solution to the problem of drug addiction rather than perpetually trading needles.

Don’t get me wrong: needle exchanges are excellent and harm reduction is crucial especially in countries like India where healthcare isn’t always readily available. Each and every one of the 114 needle-exchange facilities in India is highly necessary. But if governments are really looking for the best way to spend their tax dollars to achieve the highest amount of good, treating drug addiction so that there is no chance of using dirty needles is a far better, long-term plan.