MOBILE CLINIC ONLY STARTS TO FIX METHADONE ACCESS

The federally funded mobile methadone clinic that hit the streets of
King County this week helps chip away at Seattle-King County's title
as heroin capital of the country. But the sledgehammer that's needed
has yet to be hoisted by the state Legislature.

The roaming clinic, fashioned from a Winnebago Adventurer, meets the
needs of varied constituencies, some of whom regrettably carry more
weight with elected officials.

Access to treatment, obviously a key in recovery, is eased. People can
swallow the daily doses of methadone at various locations, from North
Seattle to the Eastside to Renton.

And the fact that the clinic, run by Evergreen Treatment Services on
contract with the county, is never in one spot for very long should
protect it from the NIMBY-ism associated with a permanent structure.

"This takes treatment to where people live," explains Ron Jackson,
Evergreen's executive director. "It makes it more approachable."

Jackson's point is well-taken. Contrary to stereotype, King County's
heroin addicts are predominantly white, mostly middle-aged and, more
often than not, employed. They also live in every neighborhood.

Their ability to recover from addiction is thwarted in part by the
dearth of treatment. By state law, clinics cannot help more than 350
people each; King County's capacity is less than 2,000 in all.

Even worse, treatment isn't even available in 35 of the state's 39
counties. Stories of working mothers spending five hours on the bus
from home in Mason County to treatment in Tacoma every day are far
from apocryphal.

So, progressive as the new Winnebago is, it by no means represents the
sole answer to the enormous problem. That lies with legislators who,
come January, simply must cede back to the state from the counties the
ability to site methadone clinics, just as the state can site clinics
for all other drug and alcohol addictions.

Legislators have this stark choice: continue to wring their hands over
"those" people or provide them the means to become productive again.