OPIATE CLINIC OPENS IN CORE

A downtown methadone clinic recently opened its doors to those trying
to gain control of their lives after facing opiate addictions, but not
everybody is pleased with its central location.

Clinic 461, which opened in early January, is located directly across
from Museum Square.

"The BIA isn't very pleased," Business Improvement Area manager Kelly
Mahaffy said yesterday. "We're not happy with their chosen location,"
Although Mahaffy said "Woodstock is fortunate to have this clinic,"
she's concerned that it's in the heart of downtown.

Methadone is used to relieve the symptoms of withdrawal from opiates
like oxycontin and heroin.

"We're not a general addiction clinic," said Dr. John Craven,
co-founder of the clinic and associate director of the London
methadone clinic. "We're specifically a methadone maintenance clinic.
All you need to come here is a valid health card and an opiate addiction."

A satellite of a London methadone clinic, it currently services about
70 people who are addicted to opiate drugs.

"Methadone treats physical dependencies. It gives (patients) the
opportunity to recover from their addiction," Craven said. "Methadone
sits on the brain receptors like glue. It doesn't do anything to
affect the thinking."

Oxford Community Police Service Chief Ron Fraser said the force is
aware of the downtown clinic and officers will be keeping a "watchful
eye" on that section of the core.

"Our concern is that we're monitoring the people who are hanging
around," Fraser said, noting the clinic "is something that may be
needed in this community."

Despite some concerns that have surfaced about the methadone clinic,
Mayor Michael Harding is not too worried.

"I think it's a positive step and the public has nothing to fear from
this clinic," Harding said. "The fact that (drugs like oxycontin) are
so readily available is what we should be concerned about.

"As far as the fear that these are street people - well, addiction
transcends economics."

Part of the problem is that many people don't understand what the
methadone clinic does, Mahaffy noted. "That's what the fear is," she
said. "We don't know a lot about it."

Downtown stakeholders will "have to embrace" the operation, Mahaffy
said.

Craven said most of his clients are struggling with an addiction to
oxycontin.

"I consider oxycontin a working man's heroin," he said.

Craven said he never asks where or how his clients obtain their
drugs.

"Treatment of addictions is not an easy thing. I ask them what I need
to know to get them better. I ask them what they're taking, how much
and how they take it," he said.

The new facility has raised a few eyebrows with local mental health
providers who are seeking a closer relationship with the facility.

"We're very pleased we have a treatment centre," said Patricia
Edwards, director of mental health services at Woodstock General
Hospital. "We want to have a strong partnership and continuity of
care. We have individuals in common and many have concurrent issues.

"We want to ensure a whole system of care is available to those
individuals that need it. We're going to work towards that."

But Craven is hesitant to push psychiatric help down the throats of
his clients for fear it will scare them away.

"I think people deserve treatment for addiction regardless of whether
they're ready to deal with other things in their life," he said.
"Addiction is a separate and distinct thing that requires separate and
distinct treatment. That's what we do; that's all we do."

While Craven is happy to point those seeking further treatment in the
right direction, he draws the line with sharing information with other
agencies.

"Frankly, the issues of privacy and confidentiality are extremely
important to the work we do," he said.

Craven said he became interested in opiate addiction after he faced a
battle of his own.

"I'm in recovery myself for alcohol and other drug problems," Craven
said.

He was treated at Homewood Health Care and is also a graduate on
Ontario Medical Physician's Health Program, a program for doctor's in
recovery.

"When I went through my own stuff, I learned people can recover from
them," he said.

Frustrated in his job as chief psychiatrist at St. Joseph's Health
Care in London where he felt he had to turn away patients that needed
his help, he turned to addiction recovery for a new challenge.

"I have never done such rewarding work as this," he said.

The clinic is operated by Dr. Don Fuller, two pharmacists - Hesham
Abdelsayed and Joe Odumodu - and Craven, who does assessment work.