BEDFORD TOWNSHIP QUESTIONS DETOX UNIT

TEMPERANCE - Bedford Township officials vow to fight a plan by a
Detroit-area physician to open a methadone clinic to detoxify heroin addicts
in a former funeral home in Temperance.

Project Straight, a Michigan corporation operated by Dr. Robert Wolf of
Bloomfield Hills, published a notice this month that it plans a Methadone
Substance Abuse Clinic at 8927 Lewis Ave. A spokeswoman for Project Straight
said a final determination hasn't been made, but "the goal of this clinic is
to try to get everybody drug free."

She said the for-profit company, which operates the Center for Narcotic
Detoxification Under Anesthesia in Bloomfield Hills, hadn't acquired
statistical evidence of a heroin problem in Monroe County, but "there is a
heroin problem pretty much everywhere." She did not give her name and
referred questions to a Project Straight physician, who could not be reached
for comment.

Dr. Wolf, whose license is as a gynecologist/obstetrician, could not be
reached for comment. He has advocated and practiced a procedure in which
addicts are placed under anesthesia and injected with Naltrexone, which is
supposed to eliminate traces of heroin from the system.

His center in Bloomfield Hills is the only place in Michigan, Indiana, or
Ohio that performs the controversial procedure, which is normally not
covered by insurance and can cost $3,000 to $8,000. The center is advertised
in the Toledo phone book.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has funded a study of the treatment,
which is used in Europe and New Zealand, comparing it with more traditional
detoxification methods.

The Journal of the American Medical Association reviewed nine studies of 400
patients who underwent the 24-hour rapid detoxification procedure in
January, 1998. The results were inconclusive because of problems with the
studies, the authors of the article wrote.

The Project Straight spokeswoman said the rapid detoxification procedure
likely wouldn't be used if a facility is opened in Temperance because it
requires surgical equipment not available there.

As of yesterday, no paperwork had been filed with the township seeking
permits or requests for zoning, township officials said.

Bedford Township Supervisor LaMar Frederick said the use of the building
likely would violate the township's nuisance ordinance, and zoning would not
allow overnight stays as required under Project Straight's explanation of
its program. "Until we know what his application would look like, we're not
sure," Mr. Frederick said. "I don't think it lends anything to our
community. I believe it would bring folks from outside the community for
treatment, probably from Toledo or Detroit."

"I don't want a methadone clinic in our community. We don't need it and we
don't want it," township Trustee Bob Schockman, who is a Michigan probation
officer, said.

Project Straight's ad, which appeared Aug. 12 in a Monroe newspaper,
referred comment to the Monroe County health department. But administrator
Walt Tylicki said his department knows nothing of any such plans.

"We've gotten calls about it, but I didn't know until [yesterday] who even
placed the ad," he said.

Methadone is a synthetic narcotic used as a largely effective way to replace
and eventually end an addict's dependence on heroin.

It has been used for decades, but requires a daily oral dose that is
distributed one at a time.

Assistant Monroe County Prosecutor Ken Swinkey handles nearly every drug
case that comes through the office, and while he said there is anecdotal
evidence of heroin use in the county, the number of cases going through the
courts doesn't bear it out.

"We hear a lot of stories from people who've been arrested, but we haven't
had too many cases involving heroin," Mr. Swinkey said.

"We probably have a half-dozen possession [of heroin] cases a year, but we
haven't encountered any with any amounts."

The few heroin addicts who go through the county's criminal justice system
are generally referred to one of several area agencies for treatment,
including the Salvation Army's Harbor Light program or public methadone
clinics in Detroit, local officials said.

Substance Abuse Services, Inc., in Toledo operates the only outpatient
methadone clinic in northwest Ohio and treats 80 to 100 heroin addicts a
year in Toledo, said Carroll Parks, its president and chief executive
officer.

The private, nonprofit agency has been in operation since 1981, and
according to Mr. Parks, is "not a major player in the methadone clinic
world. If we get above 30 clients through here at a time, we ask ourselves
what's going on." Similar clinics in Cleveland and Columbus have up to 400
clients at a time, he said.

Mr. Parks said national studies indicate heroin use among people age 18 to
24 is on the rise, and some of that increase has been reflected in the
Toledo area. He said he did not have data on use in southeast Michigan.

Though any new methadone clinic in Temperance would likely have an impact on
Substance Abuse Services, Mr. Parks said Bedford Township residents should
be wary.

"Whoever's considering opening it up, I think the community ought to ask the
question, 'Where's the need in our community?' Those programs are more
for-profit programs.

"We believe the main focus of those clinics have to be driven by the money
more than the quality of care," he said.