Did a Poorly Administered Opiate Addiction Treatment Kill Anna Nicole Smith?

The only mildly shocking death of Anna Nicole Smith comes as little surprise when one takes into consideration that an overdose of Methadone killed her 19 year old son Daniel. Why was a 19 year old taking Methadone?

For those who don't know what Methadone is, Methadone is a powerful, synthetic opiate developed by the Germans in WWII when supplies of Opium ran low due to wartime shortages. Methadone is a powerful pain killer in it own right, and although is generally perceived to be a "cure" for Heroin addiction, it is not a cure by any means. Methadone is highly addictive in itself, even more so than Morphine, but doctors specializing in opiate addiction discovered that Methadone had fewer side effects than Morphine or Heroin, and allowed the user to function more "normally" than with the naturally ocurring opiates.

So why was Anna Nicole on Methadone, or was she, at least legally? Was the Methadone prescribed to her, or someone else?

How did her son find his way into it? Who was the doctor, and most importantly, where was the doctor that prescribed it, especially in light of Daniel's Methadone death?

One easily conjurs images of a "Dr. Nick" Nichopoulos, who over prescribed medication and killed Elvis Presely. Did Anna Nicole have her own personal Dr. Nick?

You don't have to be a Heroin addict to be prescribed Methadone. Was Anna a needle drug user? There is nothing to suggest this. Anna may have been addicted to a legitimately prescribed oral opiate, however, such as Vicodin or Percocet, and once the medical need for the drug concluded itself, the addiction and illicit use continued, a very common abuse pattern among not only Hollywood Stars, but millions of the common public as well. Anna may have sought to shake addictive pain killers off by switching over to Methadone. The problem with Methadone is that it has a very long half-life (the amount of time it takes half of the drug to decay and metabolize in your system), and is far more dangerous than Morphine or Heroin in this respect, as it is much easier to take too much and overdose, especially when it is in liquid form and can be taken orally. There is a "cure" for any opiate overdose, however. An opiate antagonist called Narcan (Naltrexone), almost instantly neutralizes the deadly effects of most opiates, and would certainly have saved her sons life, and possibly hers as well if administered quickly. Addiction doctors usually give Methadone users Narcan pills for this very reason, in case a mishap occurs.

Where was the Narcan? Who was the doctor that prescribed the Methadone?

Anna's death is consistent with an opiate overdose, indeed. An overdose of opiates literally shuts the respiratory system down, making breathing impossible. Death occurs rapidly. It was observed she had also "done several shots" of liquor, and that Valium, a potent tranquilizer, was also found in her room. Methadone+alcohol+Valium=Death. It happens all too often.

Once these questions are answered, some light may be shed on Anna Nicole Smith and her young son Daniel's tragic, untimely deaths.