COMPETITIVE CLIMATE FOR DRUG TREATMENT: NO GOOD FOR ADDICTS

Dr. Wayne Pasanen, Lowell General Hospital's medical director, has
mixed emotions about the recent proposal to open a methadone clinic
in the heart of the downtown business district.

It's an important issue for someone like Pasanen, who has been on the
front lines in the war against drugs for many years.

Not the "war" on drugs, mind you, as that war is an easy one, one
that often includes not much other than mottos, and some good,
old-fashioned self-righteousness.

Everyone remembers the Reagan administration's "Just Say No" campaign.

What a great concept, you tell kids to say no, and if they defy you,
they're on their own.

"This problem demands more than just bumper-sticker solutions," says
Pasanen, who has spent the last 20 years spreading the word to a
skeptical public that drug addiction is a medical issue first and foremost.

"Before we even begin to address this problem, first we have to
abandon the thought that this is a moral issue. When someone is
addicted, they need treatment, and sometimes that treatment is use of
alternative legal drugs, for illegal ones."

This doesn't mean that Pasanen supports the latest proposal to open a
methadone clinic at 35 John St.

"I don't want to lend my voice against a treatment facility, for fear
of being anything but supportive of the therapy," said Pasanen, who
also is medical director at Habit Management, a methadone clinic on
Suffolk Street.

The question that needs to be asked is about the regional need, and
"not promoting a competitive climate where we try either to lure
addicts from another clinic, or even from other regions," he says.

To someone like Pasanen, who has fought for the public acceptance and
understanding of drug programs, it is counter-intuitive to voice
concerns for a drug-treatment program.

He even points out that Relief Associates LLC, the Watertown firm
that is apparently exploring opening a facility in Lowell, a stone's
throw from Lowell High School, should be commended for broaching the
topic when others have ignored it.

"When (Relief Associates) began, it was to address a real need. For
that, we owe them thanks," he says.

After some prodding, Pasanen discusses his concerns for a second
clinic so close to another. He explains that it would be problematic
to give addicts, who, by nature of their illness, need structure and
firm guidelines, the option to shop for their treatment.

"You have an addict who is not toeing the line, and they are told
that if they want to continue in the program, they better shape up.
You don't want them being able to go down the street."

Regardless of how local officials deal with this issue, Pasanen is
thrilled at the opportunity to speak about the issue of drug abuse
and, specifically, drug addicts.

"These are real people who are sick, not weak, not immoral or
anything else," he says, his voice rising in passion.

Pasanen compares their disease to that of Type 2 diabetes. "In most
of these cases, the disease is related to obesity. Yet we wouldn't
and shouldn't consider withholding treatment or insulin."

Most of these addicts are good people who have made some bad choices.
Does that mean we abandon them? If one of our children falls in the
water after being warned to stay away from the pool, would we watch them drown?

Of course not.

People need help. In many cases, methadone treatment has allowed
families to stay together, patients to hold down jobs and continue to
fight their addiction, he says.

"I can only hope this debate is about need and zoning, not about the
character of those battling an illness," says Pasanen.

He's right -- we can only hope that the brouhaha caused by this issue
will provide everyone a chance to focus on the lonely battle that Dr.
Wayne Pasanen and others have been unselfishly waging against drug
addiction -- not drug addicts.