Eight years ago, officials from the state of Washington adopted a cost-cutting measure related to prescription painkillers. 

People with subsidized health care are being given methadone rather than other types of pain medication.

Methadone is different from other painkillers in two major ways.  First, it’s cheaper.  Second, it’s less predictable and more deadly.  As a result, there has been a rise in deaths due to accidental methadone overdoses.  According to an investigation conducted by the Seattle Times, the deaths are clustered among some of the state’s poorest citizens.…