MIDDLESBORO IN UPROAR OVER DRUG CLINIC

Opponents Fear It Will Draw Hundreds Of Drug Addicts

It doesn't matter that clients of a proposed new methadone clinic in
Middlesboro will be coming there for help. Residents of the tiny
southeastern Kentucky town say the facility, in a strip mall on Cumberland
Avenue, simpy isn't welcome.

They fear it will draw hundreds of people addicted to Oxycontin, heroin and
other opium-based drugs to an area that is just steps from an elementary
school.

"Most people here are against the clinic for varying reasons -- mostly they
are afraid of drugs," said city council member Evelyn Farmer.

She said most everyone agrees something needs to be done to help an area
devastated by rampant drug use, but the clinic's proximity to a school and
fears that it could worsen the drug problem have the city in an uproar.

About 125 people -- mostly opponents -- attended a public hearing on the
clinic Tuesday. Another forum is set for 6 tonight. Many were upset they
had not been asked for input before the clinic was in its final stages of
approval.

"I'm not going to accuse them of working in the cover of darkness or
anything, but they were not advertising what they were doing," said Jeff
Sharpe, the chief of police.

He said the clinic's owners are not required by law to notify the public,
but "considering the nature of this business and the great emotions and
fear surrounding it, they could have been more forthcoming."

There is no law that says the community must support the clinic, said Mac
Bell, an administrator with the State Narcotic Authority, part of the
Cabinet for Health Services. The privately owned clinic, Rehabilitation
Drug Services, has been approved for opening by all required agencies and
is awaiting the final go-ahead from Bell's office.

Bell would not comment on specifics of that process yesterday, but said a
decision will be made by June 24.

In the meantime, co-owners Barbara Smith and Pam Wenger defend a business
they say will help the community. Smith said about 100 local people have
already called about the program, which will give patients daily doses of
methadone, a narcotic that curbs cravings for OxyContin, heroin and other
opium-based drugs and wards off withdrawal symptoms.

Bell said methadone programs allow addicts to live normal lives and keep
them from buying drugs on the streets and from sharing needles. He said
methadone clinics are the most strictly regulated programs in the state.

However, Bell said 90 percent of those who leave such programs relapse
within 100 days.

If approved, the Middlesboro clinic will be the only one of its type in
Bell County. Currently, area residents who seek methadone treatment drive
at least an hour to Corbin or Knoxville, Tenn. There are 11 methadone
clinics in Kentucky.

Smith said nine employees will staff the clinic, including two doctors and
three counselors. By law, the clinic can see up to 600 patients a day
because it employs two doctors. But Smith said the clinic probably will see
only about 120 people daily, and both doctors won't work at the same time.

Sharpe said traffic congestion could be a problem, but it's the thought of
so many people "standing near our school in the downtown area waiting to
get their dose of methadone," that bothers him.

The clinic would stand just 190 steps from St. Julian, an elementary school
that serves about 70 kindergarten through 7th-grade students.

Others in Middlesboro don't like the idea of using one drug to treat
addiction to another, and they fear the methadone will eventually end up
being sold on their streets. They would like to see a drug rehabilitation
center that focuses on education, counseling and religion, instead of using
drugs such as methadone.

"I think there is a need for something to help addicts," said Farmer, the
council member, "I'm just not sure this clinic is the way to go."