FDA issues public health advisory on methadone for pain.(Food and Drug Administration)

Will the medical examiners--and the public--know there's a difference?

Whenever the regulatory authorities issue new rules or warnings about methadone, opioid treatment programs take notice--they have to, because even if the warnings aren't aimed directly at them, their treatment programs may be affected. That's what happened last week, when, in an advisory clearly aimed at physicians who prescribe methadone for pain, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week warned about adverse effects including death from use of methadone. Although the advisory refers to medication for pain, it creates more public relations problems for treatment programs whose patients need higher doses than pain opioid-naive pain patients, and have many siting problems already due to negative public opinion about "addicts."

The side …