OUTLOOK DUBIOUS FOR BILL TO EASE METHADONE CURBS

OLYMPIA - A spike in the number of heroin-related deaths in Seattle is no
guarantee the Legislature will scurry to ease restrictions on use of
methadone to wean addicts from heroin, key lawmakers said Friday.

Legislative backers of a measure to increase the opportunity for addicts to
get methadone treatment said they were convinced it would make a big dent in
heroin-related deaths - a record 138 last year in Seattle and King County.

But other lawmakers ranged from skeptical to opposed, indicating the measure
faces rough sailing in both legislative houses.

The bill, the subject of a public hearing Friday, would:

- - End the state's cap of 350 patients for each methadone clinic.

- - Allow family physicians to give methadone treat-ment in their offices.

- - No longer require county approval in order to open a methadone clinic.

The cap law is especially irksome to bill supporters. Designed to avoid
concentrating addicts in a neighborhood the rule has meant' long waiting
lists for treatment, they say.

The proposal "is the right thing to do. It'll save lives. It'll reduce
crime. It'll save health-care dollars, and it will put people back to
work," said Sen. Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, the sponsor of SB5019.

But a Democratic colleague, Senate Human Services and Corrections Chairman
Jim Hargrove of Hoquiam, said the measure is far from being a sure bet to
pass his panel, at least in its current form. "I have some real concerns,"
he said a few hours before his panel took public comments on the bill.

In any case, the measure, which has been around the Legislature for several
years, would face a hard time in the House.

Many Republicans consider I methadone treatment to be simply swapping one
addiction for another. "I think we need to start looking at other ways to
treat addictions," said Rep. Kathy Lambert, R-Woodinville.