DRUG REHAB CLINIC COMING TO S PINE ST

Barring a successful appeal of a judge's decision, Spartanburg will be home
to a methadone treatment center for heroin addicts and other opiate-based
drug users.

The ruling by Administrative Law Judge John D. Geathers allows Simpsonville
resident Brent Brady, who runs privately funded outpatient narcotic
treatment programs in Charlotte and Salisbury, N.C., to open Spartanburg
Treatment Associates in a leased building at 930 S. Pine St. Brady, a
registered pharmacist, received approval to open the facility from the
state Department of Health and Environmental Control in December, but
lawyers representing the operators of treatment centers in Greenville and
York counties quickly filed a request for a contested case hearing before
the Administrative Law Judge Division, an independent quasi-judicial agency
within the executive branch of state government.

ALJD, which hears the contested cases of state agencies, heard arguments
pitting Orlando, Fla.-based Colonial Management Group against Spartanburg
Treatment Associates and DHEC in Columbia on July 16.

Geathers issued his ruling late this week.

"This isn't going to be a halfway house or a rescue mission, and I mean no
criticism of those places," said Brady's attorney, Matthew E. Cox of
Spartanburg. "It's not going to be a bunch of people hanging out and
shooting up.

"Patients will be coming in for their scheduled appointments with their
counselor or nurse, just as you or I would go to the doctor, and then
leaving. It's actually a white-collar clientele to a large degree."

Cox said Brady has not chosen a date for the opening of his facility.

The use of methadone, a legally prescribed synthetic drug, to treat opiate
addiction is generally accepted in the scientific and counseling
communities. Patients do not get high from the drug, and in fact can work
and function normally after taking it. It has no sedating or intoxicating
effects.

Taken orally at treatment centers, methadone eliminates withdrawal symptoms
and helps addicts conquer their cravings for illegal drugs, experts say.

Brady and Cox had argued that many addicts in Spartanburg and neighboring
counties do not seek methadone treatment at existing centers in Greenville
County because they don't have the time, transportation or resources to
make the round-trip drive every day.

"But with a treatment center in Spartanburg, people can get on the bus
line," Brady told the Herald-Journal in July. "Treatment would be
accessible for them."

Geathers' 18-page ruling agreed, stating that persons in Spartanburg County
and in counties to the south and east would find treatment more accessible
in Spartanburg.

The establishment of a methadone treatment center in Spartanburg would
"make it more likely that addicted individuals in Spartanburg who had not
yet sought methadone treatment would now do so," Geathers wrote.

The judge's decision says testimony from the July 16 hearing established
that almost 200 individuals from Spartanburg currently receive methadone
treatment in Greenville. Spartanburg Treatment Associates estimates it will
serve at least 400 patients by its third year.

Colonial Management, which operates Greenville Metro Treatment Center and
the York County Treatment Center, had argued that state law offers
protection from competition to health-care providers who are providing
services in an area where there is a demonstrated need.

Colonial Management's attorney, Matt Utecht of Greenville, said last month
that the law is designed, among other things, to contain the costs of
services and to "protect healthcare providers who are serving the
legitimate needs of the community from going under."

Utecht also said Spartanburg Treatment Associates had failed to demonstrate
that Colonial Management's two facilities aren't sufficient to meet the
demand for services from those in Spartanburg who need them. All but one of
South Carolina's seven methadone treatment facilities are privately run.
The facilities are located in Charleston, North Charleston, West Columbia,
Greenville, Anderson and Fort Mill.

Reached Friday afternoon, Utecht said Colonial Management has the right to
appeal Geathers' decision to the full DHEC board, but no decision has been
made. If such an appeal were unsuccessful, Colonial Management could appeal
to the Circuit Court, but Utecht said it is too early to discuss strategy.

"We're disappointed," he said. "We feel we presented a good case."