LAS SENIOR BACKS METHADONE CLINIC

Kendric Speagle, senior in LAS, is the main backer of a proposed methadone
clinic in Champaign to treat heroin addicts.

Some Champaign City Council members say that Kendric Speagle is too young
to run a methadone clinic in Champaign.

Some say he lacks the necessary expertise. Others say he is merely a
University undergraduate.

Though Speagle is a senior in LAS, he also is a 26-year-old father of a
2-year-old son, a distributor of clean needles to heroin addicts and the
main backer of a proposed methadone clinic in Champaign to treat heroin
addicts.

"My critics assume that all undergraduates are of the same breed," Speagle
said. "I can assure you that we're not."

In addition to going to school full time, Speagle has spent the past 14
months working with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District providing
clean syringes for heroin addicts.

Addicts, who usually hear of Speagle and his service through word of mouth,
call Speagle at a specified phone number when they need new needles for
heroin use.

"In the past 14 months, we've enjoyed over 150 exchanges," Speagle said.
"We've managed to reach people here that, before now, were absolutely
untouched by social services in Champaign."

"Each interaction is engaging and worthwhile," he said.

It has been estimated that 75 percent of injected drug users contract
hepatitis C and that 50 percent of all HIV cases are linked to injected
drug use, Speagle said. Such diseases are contracted when addicts share
contaminated needles.

The heroin users Speagle has spoken with express gratitude for Speagle's
concern and the needle exchange program. They also express the need for a
methadone clinic in Champaign County.

Speagle estimated that at least 500 county residents could be heroin
addicts. The nearest methadone clinics are in Kankakee and Decatur.

"There is very little stability in the lives of these people," Speagle
said, "but when they are on methadone, they can maintain gainful
employment, pay their taxes, mend their families and no longer have to
resort to illicit acts to maintain their addictions."

Methadone is a drug that works by eliminating heroin withdrawal symptoms as
well as the craving for heroin. It also blocks the effects of other
opiates, preventing addicts from feeling the effects of heroin should they
try to use it while on methadone.

Since Speagle first proposed opening a methadone clinic in Champaign last
spring, the idea garnered opposition from Champaign city government and
citizens. Clinic opponents fear heroin-related crime and protested the
original proposed location at 12 E. Washington St. across from the Orpheum
Children's Museum.

Though the proposed location recently fell through because of conflicts
over the lease, critics remain staunch in their opposition, especially
against Speagle.

"Many people have reacted to Mr. Speagle's lack of expertise," said Kathy
Ennen, Champaign City Council member at large.

"The arguments about me are simply off point," Speagle said. "People assume
that I will somehow have medical discretion over these patients. The only
part I will be dealing with is the administrative work. Methadone
maintenance is the most highly regulated form of medicine practiced today."

Speagle said the four years he spent in the Navy before college more than
prepared him for both the administrative work and responsibility of running
a methadone clinic.

Shortly after high school, Speagle joined the Navy, where he first learned
about preventive medicine. Since the experience, Speagle has continued to
research medical treatments such as methadone on his own.

Part of Speagle's research includes visiting methadone clinics around the
nation.

"I've seen the gold standard of methadone maintenance, and I know how to
replicate it," Speagle said, referring to the Chicago Center for Addictive
Problems, which boasts a methadone maintenance success rate of 90 percent.

In addition to methadone, "Our clinic would also offer therapy, HIV testing
and vocational training," Speagle said. "In our clinic, we fully intend to
offer as many primary care services as we can."

Though Speagle said he is confident the clinic will eventually open, the
proposed treatment center still lacks a location and is the object of
doubts within the community.

"The reason it is so hard to help people is because people are human,"
Speagle said. "People smoke dope, do heroin and have sex that is not as
safe as it should be. It's not that we support people in doing these
things, but instead of judging them, we must recognize their humanity.
That's just life."

For Speagle, who plans to devote at least three or four years to running
the clinic before going to law or medical school, life remains busy but
rewarding.

"Many of these folks don't see too many friendly faces," Speagle said.
"They have a hard time in life. My work means a lot to them and a lot to
me. I feel privileged to be a part of their lives."