METHADONE CLINIC COMES TO PARRY SOUND

PARRY SOUND - Methadone, a synthetic opiate used to treat heroin
addiction and relieve crippling pain, will soon be available at an
Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre (OATC) clinic on James Street in
Parry Sound.

Personnel at the clinic declined to comment on Friday and referred
questions to an OATC administrator, who did not respond to multiple
requests for comment.

Another official with the OATC, Rhonda Daiter, would only confirm
that the new clinic wouldn't be open for another week or two.

"It's not a secret. We're in and soon to be going," said Daiter.

The methadone clinic, centrally located in a building on James Street
in the downtown, features two entrances, opaque windows that
partially obscure the interior, and an intricate security system with
numerous surveillance cameras.

The clinic will offer counseling and methadone maintenance programs
to those who can't stop abusing opiates, such as OxyContin, a
powerfully addictive prescription painkiller.

An ugly secret

"It's huge in Parry Sound," Carol Emery, co-chair of HART (Helping
Addicts Restore Themselves), a non-profit organization that has had
several proposals for a detoxification facility overturned by senior
levels of government, said of OxyContin. "You think it's a small
town, a lovely little town, but it has a really ugly secret."

In 2006, HART, whose founding members have all been affected by
addiction in one way or another, released a study that revealed Parry
Sound was suffering from the highest rate of drug addiction in
Ontario, the majority of which were prescription drugs, she said.

Now that a methadone clinic has been established locally, Emery says
the geographical barrier that previously existed for addicts without
transportation no longer applies.

"If a person doesn't have support to get up there, or down to Barrie,
they're out of luck," she said.

"Having one in town, it's going to be wonderful."

While finding commercial space to lease in downtown is relatively
simple for retailers, stereotypical challenges may still exist for
the clinic, a government organization that offers somewhat of a
controversial social service on site.

Angelika Distler, owner of Florence's Finery in the neighboring
retail space of the same building, says that, given the delicate
nature of the clinic's services, the location seemed odd.

"If I were an addict, I might prefer going to a place a little less
noticeable," she said.

Unclear are the OATC's reasons for choosing the location in the heart
of Parry Sound. Weeks ago, Distler's landlord informed her of the
clinic's new location next door.

Although the building's owner would have preferred leasing the space
to another retailer rather than a government organization, says
Distler, there was little to no resistance.

"These people, they need help, so I'm glad there's a place for them
to go," she said. .