METHADONE CLINIC NEEDED HERE: OFFICIAL

Travel to Calgary for Treatment Not Workable for All of Lethbridge's
Addicts, Says HIV Connection Boss

Not only would a methadone clinic be welcomed in Lethbridge, it's needed,
says the executive director of the Lethbridge HIV Connection.

Helene Wirzba says the requirement for travel to Calgary or farther north
to have access to a methadone clinic is preventing some opiate addicts in
the area from getting the help they need.

"It's a constraint for them to go to Calgary," she says. "The distance has
been a problem.

"I think people down here are very grateful there's a clinic in Calgary,
but they still have to face the issue of (travel and accommodation) in
Calgary."

Methadone is synthetically manufactured and used as a substitute for the
treatment of people dependent on heroin and other opioids. Its effects are
much longer lasting than heroin, a single dose being effective for
approximately 24 hours; the effects of heroin may only last for a couple of
hours.

Because drug addicts aren't often bringing in a steady income, Wirzba says
travelling to Calgary and staying there for the several weeks required to
be stabilized and work out dosages often isn't an option.

Wirzba knows of some Lethbridge residents who, while seeking treatment at a
methadone clinic, were forced to stay in a homeless shelter in Calgary.

"You have to be really motivated to do it."

Alberta has five methadone clinics -- two each in Calgary and Edmonton and
one in Red Deer. The number of users has exploded -- from 350 in 2001 when
only one clinic existed, to 1,020, and medical officials are recommending
every health region in the province have a clinic.

Spokesmen for the Chinook Health Region were not available for comment.

Southern Albertans being treated at a methadone clinic can obtain their
dosage of methadone through one of several local pharmacies. However, the
doctor visits and prescriptions still have to be obtained in Calgary.

"There's definitely a strong interest in methadone in this area and there
is definitely a need for it," says Wirzba.

She says discussions have been ongoing and interested agencies are looking
into the feasibility of opening a private clinic if a government-funded
facility is not possible.

Some of the province's other clinics are run by the Alberta Alcohol and
Drug Abuse Commission, which Wirzba says may be a possibility here. The
Lethbridge AADAC office already offers urine testing for methadone clinic
patients.

While she doesn't believe drug use in Lethbridge is increasing, Wirzba says
the city's needle exchange program is seeing higher numbers as awareness
increases.

"And I don't think we've reached all the users."