CENTER TO GET $500,000 FOR DRUG STUDY

A local substance-abuse treatment center has received a five-year,
$500,000 federal grant to study new ways to treat drug and alcohol
abusers.

Comprehensive Addiction Service Systems of Toledo is one of three Ohio
drug treatment centers to receive funds from a $12 million grant from
the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Veterans
Administration will coordinate the work at substance-abuse centers in
Ohio. Bill Sanford, COMPASS chief executive officer, said the research
would be conducted in the same way as clinical trials at medical
centers. Researchers will evaluate what intervention methods are most
successful.

Because it's a clinical trial, those in the research program won't
have to pay for their treatment. Mr. Sanford said COMPASS, at 2465
Collingwood Blvd., will get $100,000 a year and must spend it only on
the research.

COMPASS, with a $3 million an|nual budget, is the largest drug and
alcohol treatment organization in Toledo. It has operated about 30
years and last year treated about 5,000 people. COMPASS employs about
80 full and part-time employees and operates a 40-bed inpatient center
as well as an outpatient program that has room for 150 people.