THERE'S NO BETTER PLACE FOR A METHADONE CLINIC

The ugliest kind of community activism is that which aims at keeping
undesirable people out. This is the kind that is springing up in
reaction to the methadone clinic opening this week in Centretown.

The undesirables, in this case, are drug addicts. Methadone is a
stable, controllable substitute for a variety of addictive drugs, best
known for its use in treating heroin addiction.

The backlash against the clinic is understandable, however illogical
its premises. Some people in the neighbourhood, particularly in the
retail/residential building that is home to the clinic, feel
blindsided. They feel there should have been more public consultation
before the clinic was able to open.

What this really means is they feel they should have had the chance to
stop the clinic from opening. That's fair enough. Good communities
allow debate.

But even if they had succeeded in chasing the clinic out of the
neighbourhood, they can never chase reality out.

The problem of drug addiction is already in Ottawa's backyard. The
inescapable fact is that some of Ottawa's residents are drug addicts.
Some are in Centretown. The other residents of Centretown can't change
that. All they can do is answer the question: Do they want their
community to have the capacity to treat those drug addicts, or not?

To date, Ottawa as a whole has done a miserable job of answering this
question. The lack of methadone treatment here has caused Ottawa's
addicts to travel outside of the city, to visit other clinics in the
province, according to Dr. Jeff Daiter, the chief medical director for
the Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres, which is bringing the clinic
to Ottawa. The group has clinics in several Ontario cities; this is
the group's 20th location.

"We'll be treating what is thought to be the greatest waiting list for
drug addictions in the country," says Dr. Daiter. He estimates there
are between 800 and 1,200 people in Ottawa waiting for this kind of
treatment. Dr. Daiter expects the clinic will treat between 350 and
400 of those, with five rotating physicians and other staff.

Dr. Dino Smiljic, who treats about 60 Ottawa methadone patients with
another doctor, says, "I'm sure the supply is not adequate at this
time." He can't accept any more patients. Until space near his office
opens up, he lacks the space to offer group therapy sessions to
accompany the methadone.

Ottawa has a substantial number of drug addicts who are willing to try
methadone maintenance, but are unable to find it. If any situation
should worry the decent people of Ottawa, that's it.

But instead, people are worrying about the clinic that will help solve
this situation.

The clinic is on the ground floor of a building at 401 Somerset St.,
near Bank Street, which includes several businesses and housing for
seniors. Somerset and Bank is not exactly a residential enclave: It's
pretty much as urban as Ottawa gets. People who live in the vicinity
of Somerset and Bank have probably seen their share of drug addicts,
whether they realize it or not.

An untreated drug addict is much more dangerous than an addict seeking
treatment. Methadone allows addicts to avoid the needles, theft and
prostitution that can come with addiction to drugs such as heroin. A
methadone clinic is not a place for addicts to shoot up. Methadone is
a medical treatment, covered by OHIP and the Ontario Drug Benefit Program.

I doubt the clinic will attract crime. If I were a drug dealer looking
to conduct business out of sight of the law, I wouldn't hang out at a
busy clinic with 24-hour video surveillance, in the same building as a
community police centre.

The main objection to the location is that seniors live in the same
building. The unspoken assumption is that certain types of people just
don't belong near other types of people.

Which brings up the question: If not here, where should this methadone
clinic be? What is the acceptable radius between drug addicts and the
rest of us?

The reality of daily life at the clinic will surprise those who are
nervous about it now. Call me an optimist, but the seniors in the
building could surprise us all too. I would love to visit 401 Somerset
St. a year from now and see a patient of the clinic holding the door
open for a senior with a walker, and the senior thanking the patient
by name.