MAINE COUNCIL APPROVES METHADONE CLINIC

ROCKLAND, Maine --After years of controversy, hearings and protests,
a proposal to open a methadone clinic in Rockland has won the
approval of the City Council.

The panel's 4-1 vote Monday night came nearly a year after Turning
Tides Inc. sued the city, alleging that it violated the Americans
With Disabilities Act and other laws by restricting the clinic to an
outlying area along Route 90.

Turning Tide originally sought to open the clinic on Park Street, but
the Council approved a site at the corner of U.S. 1 and Glenwood
Avenue. Turning Tide still must get final approval from the planning board.

A sharp increase in the number of Mainers addicted to heroin and
OxyContin prompted state health officials to support the opening of
new clinics that dispense methadone to curb addicts' craving for
opium-based drugs.

Opponents of the clinic have held public demonstrations in Rockland.
At Monday's meeting, residents expressed concern about the clinic's
proximity to a school bus stop and raised questions about the driving
abilities of addicts on methadone.

Voting with the majority was Councilor Hal Perry, who as a resident
in November 2004 referred to the proposed Park Street location as
turning the gateway to Rockland into the "gateway to hell."

On Monday, Perry said the city cannot afford to fight the lawsuit.
"This was pretty much put in our laps," he said.

Councilor Adele Grossman Faber cast the lone vote against the
contract zoning agreement. She said her vote to zone methadone
clinics on Route 90 was designed to keep sole-source pharmacies away
from residential areas and put them in locations that afford the
greatest patient privacy.