Pubdate: Sun, 19 Oct 2003
Source: Sun Herald (MS)
Copyright: 2003, The Sun Herald
Contact:  http://www.sunherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/432
Author: Margaret Baker

METHADONE, ALCOHOL A DEADLY COMBINATION

LONG BEACH - Brian Cuevas was 21 when he died of a drug overdose during a 
Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans this year. The 2001 graduate of Long 
Beach High School didn't know he was risking his life when he ingested 
methadone and drank alcohol.

Cuevas apparently got the drug from a heroin addict in New Orleans who was 
supposed to be taking the drug to help him fight his addiction.

Law enforcement officials say a lot of people are taking these drugs and 
don't know anything about the risks involved. Cuevas risked his life and lost.

After her son's death in March, Donna Cuevas warned others to consider what 
they are doing before taking these illicit drugs. In her son's case, she 
said, there was a chance for him to survive if those around him knew to 
take him to a hospital to get an antidote that is available to reverse the 
effects of a methadone overdose. Brian Cuevas didn't go to a hospital. 
Instead, he simply fell asleep and never woke up again.

"Brian didn't want to die," Cuevas said. "He just didn't know it could kill 
him."

Cuevas was an avid fisherman, an athlete in high school and worked in a 
car-detailing business at the time of his death. He wanted to one day own 
his own shop.

Cuevas told task force members that she suspected something was going on 
right before his death, when she asked him if he was taking anything. She 
already knew from previous conversations that her son sometimes smoked 
marijuana and drank alcohol. This time, her son told her he was taking a 
painkiller for a sports injury. After his death, she learned the painkiller 
was methadone.

Methadone hydrochloride is a synthetic narcotic painkiller that is supposed 
to be used for severe pain or treatment of heroin addiction. It is a 
Schedule II controlled substance that is addictive and can cause death, 
especially when it's mixed with alcohol and other drugs.

An antidote given within an hour of ingestion can prolong life.
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