NEW DRUG CLINIC POISED TO OPEN

Lane County's heroin-related overdose deaths took a plunge last year
and the operators of two new private methadone clinics hope they can
help keep those numbers moving down.

The two clinics - one in operation since November and the other
scheduled to open Monday - are expected to more than double the
availability of treatment for addicts in Lane County.

"I am so happy," said Kasey Thomas, clinic coordinator for Integrated
Health Clinics, which will begin taking appointments Monday for as
soon as Tuesday. "(Eugene is) very, very forward thinking and
progressive when it comes to treatment."

It's that progressive attitude, Thomas said, that kept Integrated
Health Clinics committed to opening in Eugene and changing planned
locations after zoning regulations presented a roadblock. In fact,
zoning issues delayed the openings of both Integrated, now settled at
715 Lincoln St., and the 3-month-old MARS clinic at 362 Highway 99N.

Integrated was poised to open in late August on East 12th Avenue near
Whitebird Clinic and Chrysalis Substance Abuse Treatment Program. But
neighbors opposed the clinic and officials were told the site wasn't
properly zoned for a medical facility.

The private, for-profit group had already invested about $10,000 in
leasing the site and getting things in order when they pulled out and
began looking for an alternative site, Thomas said.

The group settled on a location at the corner of Lincoln Street and
Seventh Avenue across from High Priestess Piercing and Hunky Dory Pipe
and Tobacco, she said.

"Lane County has been wonderful," she said. "(There are) a whole lot
of things happening and it's exciting."

Thomas said the group hasn't received any complaints from neighbors
near the new location. But there is some quiet discomfort. Thomas
Medlin and Nicole Serra live next door with their two children and run
a jewelry and metalsmith business out of the front of their house.

The two said they aren't so much upset about their new neighbor as
they are concerned.

"It's a very select clientele," Medlin said. "One of my initial
thoughts was, 'Great, it's a place that deals with felons.' " The
couple said they hope the methadone clinic is a good neighbor, but
they are beefing up security on their house just in case. They've
already added new locks on the doors, resealed windows and are even
thinking about getting a dog.

"We're assuming we'll be OK," Medlin said. "We're being
optimistic."

And the two said they recognize that more treatment is
needed.

Drug addiction treatment specialists in Lane County agree and have
publicly acknowledged that heroin, a highly addictive opiate, is a
growing problem, MARS clinic owner Viccie Boeckel said.

"They have not been willing to hide this problem under the rug," she
said.

And the county's efforts - such as a heroin task force and other
education programs - have had an impact resulting in the heightened
awareness of the problem, the reduction of heroin-related overdoses
and more treatment options, Boeckel said.

Last year, heroin claimed more lives in the county and across the
state than any other drug. There were 130 heroin-related deaths in
Oregon, a decrease from the 195 in 1999. In Lane County there were 20
heroin-related deaths, down from 34 the previous year. Also in Lane
County, nine people died from methadone-related overdoses in 2000
after just one death in 1999.

Boeckel's clinic has enlisted about 40 clients since opening three
months ago but not before being delayed by a snag.

State law states that a methadone clinic cannot operate within 1,000
feet of a child-care center, and while MARS was awaiting the results
of its permit application it learned that a neighbor - 687 feet away -
had applied to be a licensed and registered in-home child-care
provider. The state eventually ruled in favor of MARS because its
application had been submitted first.

"Things are going really well," Boeckel said. "I'm pleased with the
growth" in clients.

Both new clinics' primary treatment for opiate addiction is methadone,
a controlled substance that suppresses the physical desire associated
with heroin addiction. Methadone, which also can be abused, enables
people to live normal lives in which they can work, maintain a
residence and even raise children, Boeckel said.

The MARS clinic has room for about 110 more clients and up to 350
people will be able to seek treatment at Integrated. Both groups
already have clinics in the Portland area.

Boeckel's Portland clinic, RAM, serves about 400 people. Integrated,
owned by a Chicago-based firm, has a clinic in Milwaukie that opened
last spring.

The county's only other private methadone clinic, the nonprofit CODA
Addiction Treatment Services on West 12th Avenue near Garfield Street,
treats more than 200 clients. The county's program - the only public
methadone program - serves 108 clients and has a consistent waiting
list of 15 to 25 people.

Drug addiction specialists said there is room for four clinics in Lane
County.

"When a person who is addicted to heroin decides they are ready for
treatment, then a one-day wait is too long because the cravings are so
haunting that the person needs the heroin to get well," said Brinda
Narayan-Wold, coordinator of the county's heroin task force.

No one knows how many people need or want treatment, but there seems
to always be a demand for services, said Linda Eaton, director of the
county methadone program.

"Not everybody who could benefit from treatment is in treatment," she
said. "Having enough treatment for the community is a good thing."