Addiction
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Methadone treatment has been shown to be an effective intervention that can lower the risk of heroin-induced overdose death. Recent reports have suggested increases in methadone-induced overdose deaths in several locations in the USA and in Europe. This study investigated the role of methadone and opiates in accidental overdose deaths in New York City. ⋯ There was no appreciable increase in methadone-induced overdose mortality in New York City during the 1990s. Both heroin-induced overdose mortality and prescriptions of methadone increased during the same interval.