Methadone-Associated Mortality:
Report of a National Assessment


Appendix 8. Methadone Identified in Laboratory Testing

M E M O R A N D U M
To: Alan Trachtenberg From: Jane C. Maxwell Date: April 22, 2003 Subject: Data on Methadone Identified in Laboratory Tests

In preparing for the upcoming Methadone Associated Mortality: A National Assessment Meeting, I went to the data in the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) to see what information might be available on methadone in that dataset. NFLIS, which is sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration, collects results from drug analyses conducted by State and local forensic laboratories. It reflects drug evidence seized by law enforcement agencies and analyzed by forensic laboratories. NFLIS started in 1997 and the number of laboratories participating in the system in 2002 has grown to 35 State lab systems and 52 local or municipal labs for a total of 184 individual labs. The NFLIS system is continuing to grow, as the tables below show. Table 1 shows the number of items which were examined and identified as hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, and then the total number of all items identified by NFLIS for 1999-2002 in all labs reporting nationwide.

Table 1. Number of Items Examined and Reported to NFLIS*
  1999 2000 2001 2002
Hydrocodone 2,153 4,157 6,665 8,944
Oxycodone 839 2,799 5,752 8,313
Methadone 249 461 1,002 2,221
All Items 437,059 615,165 810,045 927,484

Table 2 shows the percent increase for each group of drugs year by year. Notice that while the number of cases is increasing each year, the difference in growth between years is lessening for hydrocodone and oxycodone, while the difference is increasing for methadone, which could mean that methadone is becoming more available and replacing these other drugs as their availability becomes more restricted.
Table 2. Percent Increase in Items Examined and Reported to NFLIS*
    1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002
Hydrocodone   93% 60% 34%
Oxycodone   234% 106% 45%
Methadone   85% 117% 122%
All Items   41% 32% 14%

Table 3 shows the forms of methadone which were identified by the laboratories reporting to NFLIS. "No form specified" means that when the data were sent to NFLIS, the field was blank, and most of these items come from laboratories that do not record this type of information in their databases. "Unspecified" means the laboratory reported to NFLIS that the form was unspecified, and these items come from laboratories that normally record the form of the materials, but for some reason, it was not specified for these items. Note that the increase for liquid methadone was only 11 percent from 2001 to 2002, which probably reflects the growth in the NFLIS system, since the total number of exhibits increased 14 percent in this time frame. However, the increase in solid tablets was 133 percent, which could reflect increased availability of the 5mg and 10mg pain pills.
Table 3. Form of Methadone Examined and Reported to NFLIS**
  1999 2000 2001 2002 % Change 2001-2002
No Form Specified 111 208 431 662 54%  
Liquid 34 70 111 123 11%  
Other 2 2 12 28 133%  
Residue 5 10 13 40 208%  
Solid-Powder 3   21 24 14%  
Solid-Resin 1   2 2 0%  
Solid-Tablet 66 143 325 756 133%  
Solid-Caplet     13 16 23%  
Solid-Capsule     3 2 -33%  
Solid-Rock     1 2 100%  
Solid-Unspecified 5 7 26 62 138%  
Unspecified   5 11 20 82%  
Unknown       3    

*NFLIS "Specific Drug Counts for Methadone" and "25 Most Frequently Identified Substances" for 1999-2002 downloaded by Jane Maxwell from NFLIS website, April 21, 2003. **Email from Albert Bethke to Jane Maxwell, Friday, April 18, 2003.

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