METHADONE CLINICS UNDER FIRE AGAIN

What authority should communities have in the clinics'
location?

The licensing of methadone clinics in New Hampshire is coming under
review.

It comes following a request by the board of selectmen in Conway that
the state not license any new clinics until host communities are
given more authority over where they are located.

It is not the first time the location of methadone clinics has come
under fire by communities or their residents.

It's a hot-button development issue -- a not-in-my-back-yard
one.

Methadone is a synthetic opiate -- one used in the treatment of
heroin addiction and addiction to some prescription
painkillers.

Opposition to the siting of clinics is a not unusual or even
unreasonable concern related to drug addicts on the scene in the
communities and neighborhoods in which the clinics are located or
might be located. But the arguments are often more emotional than
fact-based.

Conway's request of Gov. John Lynch came following a push by a
Massachusetts group of methadone clinics to open a facility in the
White Mountains community -- one of the gateways to the state's
four-season tourist regions.

Selectmen want more control, and until they're able to see it
inserted in a 2000 law governing the clinics, they want a moratorium
on licenses.

Local control of development is nothing new in New Hampshire. It's a
matter of regulating orderly growth and making sure the cities and
towns can maintain public safety. What Conway wants in the form of
law is the ability to fine tune the authority.

The creation of clusters of medical facilities and medical
professionals is not uncommon in the cities and towns of New
Hampshire. The communities recognize a common symbiosis among
professionals and facilities in proximity to hospitals -- sometimes,
as in the case of Route 108 in Somersworth, within easy reach of two
or more hospitals. These clusters are formed in compliance with the
community's planning and zoning regulations.

Should a community have jurisdiction over the practice of legitimate
medicine within its boundaries? Maybe not -- at least not if the
exclusionary thinking of boards of selectmen like the one in Conway
are determined to have merit.

What is the history of methadone treatment? How successful is it in
combating the addictions it targets? What if any real public safety
issues have been created in the wake of methadone clinics being
licensed in communities similar to those in New Hampshire?

Gov. Lynch has asked Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick
Toumpas and Attorney General Kelly Ayotte to look into the matter and
make suggestions. It is way the way to address the legitimate
concerns of people like those of the selectmen and others -- as
policy matters related to health, safety and law supportable in terms
of the state constitution.