METHADONE CLINIC ABUSE

With methadone clinics, public safety is not so much about location as it is
the operation.

Roanokers leery of having a methadone clinic in their midst might look
with dread at the poor record of a Charlottesville clinic implicated
in two overdose cases, one of which was fatal. The lesson to be drawn,
though, is this:

Methadone clinics are a legitimate and needed drug treatment option
that must be tightly regulated and closely monitored.

Recent public protests about proposed methadone clinics in Western
Virginia focused exclusively on location, prompting policymakers to
act, perhaps unadvisedly. The General Assembly this year passed new
restrictions on where clinics can be opened.

Charlottesville's Pantops Clinic was not a problem because of where it
is located, though, but because of how it was run. The clinic allowed
patients with poor treatment records to take home large amounts of the
drug.

An inspection found the operation in violation of more than 160 state
regulations.

Rather than shut it down, though, Virginia's Department of Mental
Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services has allowed it
to be sold - evidence of the need.

The simple fact is that Western Virginia has a growing drug addiction
problem. A growing demand for drug treatment should be met. Methadone
is a legitimate option that can work well. But it comes with some risks.

Communities should know of plans for methadone clinics and have some
control over their location. But, unlike a real estate deal, location,
location, location should not be the overriding concern. Drugs
improperly dispensed can be carried anywhere, into any neighborhood or
home.

Of more importance is the clinic operation itself. Addiction Recovery
Systems of Pennsylvania, which bought Pantops, promises to follow all
the rules. It needs the chance, because addicts need the help.

Methadone is a narcotic drug that can be abused and kill. Methadone is
a narcotic drug that can be used and save - used legally in a drug
treatment regimen that can save lives.

Fear of abuse should not bar its proper use.