THE mother of a 29-year-old cancer survivor who died after taking methadone which he wasn’t prescribed has warned of the dangers to others.
Samuel Francis, also known as Samuel Cope, was found dead in his flat, in Hawfield Lane, Winshill, on November 26, 2010, an inquest heard yesterday.
Following yesterday’s hearing, it was revealed by police that heroin users hadbeen known to ‘stockpile’ their prescriptions of methadone — a synthetic opiate used to wean addicts off heroin — to sell on the black market.
Mr Francis’ mother, Jacqueline Boam, said people didn’t realise how dangerous methadone could be and was concerned about its underground supply.
Tests on Mr Francis, a post-graduate student, found food debris in his airways and acid damage suggesting he had been sick while unconscious.
Terence Hollingworth, the pathologist who performed the post mortem examination, said: “The cough reflex protects the airways against gastric content. This failed to work when he was unconscious.
“The cause of death, aspirational gastric content, is as a result of alcohol and methadone which would suppress a cough reflex.”
The inquest was told Mr Francis had beaten cancer after having a tumour removed, and before his death was in a positive frame of mind, studying for a Masters’ degree, although he was using cannabis.
He was known to the mental health trust and he was in contact with the probation service after being arrested for possession of drugs in August 2009.
PC Mark Douglas, the officer in charge of the investigation into Mr Francis’ death, said his friend and neighbour, a recovering heroin addict who used methadone, had reported his death after Mr Francis had failed to visit him that day.
The officer said: “People who have methadone, it is very valuable to them. It is not something a recovering heroin addict would want to share.
“However, it has been known that people prescribed with it tend to stockpile it from the chemist to sell it on, and they revert back to heroin.”
Mr Francis’ mother, who described her son as a recluse who had few friends in Winshill, remained concerned about where a non-methadone user would have been able to get the drug.
She said: “Methadone causes so much damage. I just don’t think people realise.
“It is scary that people can just get hold of it.
“I have worked for the substance misuse team and I know how users play the system to get methadone to sell it on.
“He is not the only person who has died from using it when not prescribed it, because they are totally unaware of how dangerous the drug is.”
PC Douglas said he felt there needed to be more stringent methods put in place to control and monitor the supply of methadone at chemists.
South Staffordshire Coroner Andrew Haigh said: “There are no suspicions of direct third party involvement.
“There is strong circumstantial evidence that the neighbour was involved in the supply, but no evidence.
“From the toxicology reports the cause of death was aspiration of gastric contents linked with the use of alcohol and methadone poisoning.”
Mr Haigh returned a verdict of nondependant abuse of drugs and asked Mrs Boam to contact him regarding a report he was planning to write about the prescription of methadone.
