Deaths linked to methadone and anti-depressants soar

DRUG-RELATED deaths involving anti-depressants and methadone have soared, new figures show.

And there is mounting concern over the spread of heroin, with the drug being involved in more deaths in 2008, compared to 2007.

But statistics show that legal substances, including tranquillisers and alcohol as well as anti-depressants and methadone, are involved in the bulk of drug deaths.