NEW HEALTH PLAN EXPANDS METHADONE DRUG PROGRAM

Methadone treatment will be expanded to four additional regions under
the province's new health plan, unveiled Tuesday by Health Minister
Mike Murphy.

Services will become available in St. Stephen, Edmundston, Campbellton
and Bathurst. The Health Department could not provide a timeline for
rollout of the methadone initiative, but the health plan is being
implemented in phases over the next four years.

Saying that addictions are "destroying the lives of many New
Brunswickers," Murphy vowed the province will do more to fight the
growing problem. The new services will make it easier for people to
obtain the care they need closer to home, while also addressing
ballooning waiting lists, he said.

The initiative delivers on a pledge from the 2006 Liberal Charter for
Change to improve the availability of methadone treatment in urban
centres and rural communities.

Methadone clinics are currently operating in Saint John, Fredericton,
Moncton and Miramichi.

In the four additional regions, methadone treatment will be added to
existing addiction services programs. To facilitate the provision of
treatment, six full-time employees will be added: two in each of St.
Stephen and Bathurst, and one in each of Campbellton and Edmundston.

St. Stephen mayor Allan Gillmor said the initiative should address
some of the region's immediate problems linked to drug use, which has
become a more pervasive issue in recent years.

"Obviously drugs are a problem in every community and if this is a way
of dealing with it, it certainly should be a help," Gillmor said.

But the jury's still out on whether methadone - used to wean addicts
off drugs from the opioid family, including codeine, morphine and
heroin - is a good solution in the long term, he said.

Dennis Greene, mayor of nearby Grand Manan, lauded the initiative,
saying it will be a valuable resource for residents.

But he said his village, which was shattered two years ago by a riot
that culminated in the burning of a suspected crack house, would have
benefitted from having treatment available on its own turf.

Drugs have become a major problem in every community in the province,
said Barry MacKnight, president of the New Brunswick Association of
Chiefs of Police and chief of the Fredericton force. About 75 per cent
of all crime is related to substance abuse, he said, and, in
Fredericton, all reported robberies are related to drug addiction.

The methadone clinic in Fredericton has provided some relief, he
said.

"When people are on methadone, they're not doing crime to support
their drug habits, and that's a big deal to us," he said.

But MacKnight stressed that methadone is only part of the solution,
underscoring the value of education and prevention.

The methadone treatment program in Saint John has admitted about 300
people since opening in February of 2005, said co-ordinator Marj Mullin.

The government's announcement is "absolutely exciting," she added,
pointing to major studies that have shown methadone is the most
effective method of treating opioid addiction.

"Designating that this is an area the province needs to go in and
address and provide more resources to is extremely exciting," Mullin
said.

But high demand has kept many who need access to methadone on
hold.

Currently, 166 people are actively involved in the Saint John program
and 56 are on a waiting list, Mullin said.

In Miramichi, 173 people are in methadone treatment at the addiction
recovery clinic, while 248 are stuck on a waiting list, a spokesperson
said.

That problem is not being addressed in the government's new plan,
since the additional resources are not directed toward existing
clinics, said Opposition health critic Claude Landry. He also blasted
the initiative for lacking detail.

"It's quite vague," Landry said. "We don't have any timeframe or
budget allocated. We are talking about six (new full-time employees),
but are we addressing those issues of waiting times?"