Multimedia

The Oxycontin Express
November 18, 2009 - In the season premiere of Vanguard, correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to South Florida, the "Colombia of prescription drugs", to expose a bustling pill pipeline that stretches from the beaches... - Read more

Prescription Drug Abuse.
February 20, 2008 - This local doctor says these pills were specifically designed so that abusers can not use them for a quick high. So he says that if the pills make it into the... - Read more

Addiction Prevention
February 20, 2008 - “I suspect over a period of time if these new formulations are as effective and safe as we think, that they’ll probably replace most all of the other medications out... - Read more

Heath Ledger's Overdose Death
February 8, 2008 - “Unfortunately, what’s happened to Heath is becoming increasingly more common. I believe it’s become a crisis.” Dr. Lynn Webster speaks of unintentional death.  Taking a combination of prescription drugs which by... - Read more

Sleep Apnea.
October 5, 2007 -   New Research shows pain medication may cause life threatening side effects.  The Journal of the AmericanAcademy of Pain Medicine released findings that opioid based pain medications may cause sleep apnea.... - Read more

Painkillers and Sleep Apnea.
October 5, 2007 - SaltLake based Lifetree Clinical Research has found that opioid based pain medications may cause a sleep apnea.  And it may only take a moderate to high dose to bring it... - Read more

Chronic Pain & Drug Abuse.
May 6, 2007 -   Dr. Lynn Webster and Scott Winter discuss the proper way to use prescription medication, the function of chronic pain in society, and the dangers of methadone.   - Read more

Utah leads the nation in painkiller abuse
March 5, 2007 - Utah leads the nation in painkiller abuse.  A study released by the US Department of Health and Human Services found that 6.5% of Utahns use drugs without a doctors orders. ... - Read more

Methadone Dangers.
February 19, 2007 - According to the Utah Health Department, Methadone is the number one drug overdose killer in Utah, beating out cocaine and heroin. Dr. Lynn Webster initiated the Zero Unintentional Deaths campaign... - Read more

Methadone Warning
November 28, 2006 - Methadone unlike other painkillers is effective for a few hours, but it sticks around in the body for a long time so patients have a tendency to overmedicate and then... - Read more

Daniel Smith's Overdose Death
September 27, 2006 - Dr. Lynn Webster, an expert in pain management, has studied methadone related deaths across the country. He has crucial information on how to prevent similar tragedies.... - Read more

Methadone: One Pill Can Kill.
September 22, 2006 - “One pill can be lethal.” Dr. Lynn Webster analyzed methadone deaths nationally, and he says that the main problem is with new users. The drug doesn’t kick in right away, tempting overdose. “Often... - Read more

Zero Deaths Campaign Launched to Stop Deaths from Prescription Painkillers
June 15, 2006 - Almost once a day pain killing drugs prescribed by a doctor kills someone in Utah. “It has escalated tremendously at an alarming rate, which concerns me.” Like most pain specialists, Dr.... - Read more

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Factors Behind Rx-Opioid Overdose Deaths Examined
February 19, 2010 - Increasing incidences of fatal overdoses associated with prescribed opioid analgesics have raised concerns among government agencies, healthcare providers, and the public. A recent report from Lynn Webster, MD, and colleagues... - Read more

Deaths From Methadone Overdose Disproportionate to Number of Prescriptions
February 8, 2010 - February 8, 2010 (San Antonio, Texas) — A national review of unintentional overdose deaths involving opioids has shown that a disproportionate number of them are related to methadone use, researchers said... - Read more

Proposed guidelines for pain drugs stir emotional debate
January 5, 2009 - There are personal stories of Utahns losing family members to drug addiction, with conditions like migraines leading to pain pills, dependence and sometimes death. And then there are people who... - Read more

Accidental Opioid Overdose in Children Increasing
December 22, 2008 - New research suggests that the increased availability of prescription opioids may be contributing to a surge in accidental overdose deaths and injuries among children under the age of 6. Investigators... - Read more

Prescription-Opioid Overdose Deaths Examined
December 22, 2008 - Along with increases in prescription opioid analgesic use, rates of abuse and overdose also have risen in certain locales. Deaths from overdose are highest in rural areas, and unintentional overdoses... - Read more

State tries to reduce prescription overdoses
December 8, 2008 -   State health officials are writing guidelines for doctors who prescribe powerful drugs to treat chronic pain. The state is trying to reduce the number of overdoses from prescription drugs. Recommendations by the... - Read more

Utah patients who need pain pills will be scrutinized
December 6, 2008 -   Utah patients who need pain pills will be scrutinized far more closely as the state attempts to halt a rash of overdose deaths. If you get a prescription, expect to... - Read more

The Killer Cure: New warning issued on methadone.
November 28, 2006 - This is part of an ongoing Gazette investigation of methadone, a drug that has the unique ability to kill if you don’t take it exactly as directed,... - Read more

Utah Physician Fighting Accidental Overdoses
October 27, 2006 - Lynn Webster, president of the Utah Academy of Pain Medicine and medical director of Lifetree Clinical Research and Pain Clinic in Salt Lake City and Ogden, will present his “Zero... - Read more

Daniel Smith's Overdose
October 16, 2006 - Known primarily as the drug prescribed for heroin withdrawal, methadone is gaining popularity as a painkiller – with sometimes deadly results. From 1999 to 2002 the number of methadone-related deaths tripled... - Read more

Campaign launched to eliminate overdose deaths
June 26, 2006 - Dr. Lynn R. Webster visited Vernal to present a seminar on pain-related medical topics. His seminar was the first of such seminars that will be... - Read more

The Killer Cure: Patients Are the Ones At Risk
June 11, 2006 - Two U.S. senators are calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to respond to thousands of overdose deaths being blamed on the prescription painkiller methadone. A Sunday Gazette-Mail investigation published... - Read more

The Killer Cure: Despite deaths, methadone prescriptions multiply.
June 5, 2006 - Lynda Lee was recuperating in her Texas home following back surgery one day in November 2004. The 59-year-old nurse took the pain medicine her doctor had prescribed — methadone —... - Read more

The Killer Cure; A deadly dose
June 4, 2006 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a “usual adult dosage” on the package insert for methadone that several studies say could be deadly. “The usual adult dosage is 2.5... - Read more

The Killer Cure: Deaths Tied to Methadone Escalate Across State, Nation.
June 4, 2006 -   One increasingly popular painkiller is helping to kill more people than any other prescription narcotic, a Sunday Gazette-Mail investigation has found. Patients could die if they take the “usual adult dosage”... - Read more

Guest Speaker Says Pain Medicine Often Underprescribed
February 14, 2006 - As Dr. Lynn Webster sees it, there’s a big pain problem in this country that is only to get worse if something isn’t done soon. Webster, the medical director of Lifetree... - Read more