METHADONE BILL HITS SNAG IN ANNAPOLIS

Schrader Could Delay Bid To Limit Clinic Sites

A bill to limit the location of methadone clinics in Howard County has
run into heavy opposition in the General Assembly, prompting one
sponsor to consider dropping the legislation and a County Council
member to say he will propose local limits.

Sen. Sandy Schrader, the Columbia Republican who is the lead sponsor
on the state Senate bill, said she is "leaning" toward pulling the
legislation for the year.

Schrader said she is not giving up on the idea of limiting where
clinics can open in the county, but might refer the bill to "summer
study" and sponsor a revised bill next year.

This year's bill would prohibit methadone clinics from opening within
1,000 feet of a school or residential area.

"I think we can work out something," said Schrader, adding that she
wanted to consult with state health officials, who oversee methadone
clinics. "I don't want this to become us versus them. I realize people
need these clinics."

County Council member Dave Rakes, the Columbia Democrat who led the
battle against a clinic proposed for Oakland Mills last summer, said
he will introduce legislation aimed at resolving the problem "within
the month."

Rather than banning the clinics from certain areas, Rakes said his
legislation probably will designate zones where clinics could be opened.

"I've said all along we need treatment for those individuals who've
gotten caught up in these drugs, but we need to protect the
neighborhood concept as well," said Rakes this week. "I'm going to get
cracking on this tomorrow."

Del. Neil Quinter, the Columbia Democrat who is sponsoring the House
version of the bill, this week said that he will not pull his bill.

"If this approach doesn't work, we'll see what other approach we can
use, but right now, I'm committed to this approach," he said.

Methadone battle continues

The General Assembly bills are an outgrowth of a pair of prolonged
community battles last summer over two methadone clinics proposed for
Howard County, one in Oakland Mills, the other in Elkridge. Both
proposals were dropped in the face of intense community opposition.

Methadone clinics are facilities where heroin addicts are given daily
doses of methadone to help them overcome their heroin habit. Howard
County now has one such clinic and treatment advocates say it needs
more.

But neighbors objected to the two proposed last summer, saying they
would endanger homeowners and, in the Oakland Mills case, students at
nearby schools.

At a hearing last week before the Senate Education, Health and
Environmental Affairs Committee, Schrader pointed out that several
states already restrict methadone clinics. Just this year, she said,
Virginia lawmakers passed legislation prohibiting public methadone
clinics from opening with a half-mile of a school or day care center.

In Maryland, Baltimore County and the city of Westminster also have
shown an interest in limiting clinics.

Schrader's proposal was praised at the March 10 hearing by Oakland
Mills resident Ruth Cargo, who said limits on clinics are not
necessarily anti-drug treatment.

"We can limit the location of methadone clinics so they are not near
schools," she said. "We can both allay parents' fears and provide
excellent locations for drug treatment."

But opponents lambasted the bill as unfair, biased and potentially
illegal _ the same criticisms leveled at the House bill in a House
committee hearing weeks ago.

Ann Ciekot of the Maryland chapter of the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence said restrictions on drug-treatment
facilities have been struck down in Maryland and elsewhere because
they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees
access to treatment for people with disabilities _ including drug
addicts. She also said the limits would make it harder to find drug
treatment at a time when only 24 percent of those in Maryland seeking
treatment are able to get it.

Ciekot said the bill "perpetuates and substantiates unfounded fears
that people have" about drug-treatment facilities.

"Instead of feeding into the fears of our neighbors, many of whom have
never been in a methadone clinic nor talked with someone in recovery
thanks to methadone, we should be educating them about how treatment
programs are part of the solution, not the problem," Ciekot said.

The Drug Policy and Public Health Strategies Clinic at the University
of Maryland School of Law also registered its opposition.

Law student Jeanne Brennan told lawmakers the bill violates not only
the ADA but the Maryland Constitution. It would be a zoning
regulation, she explained, and in chartered counties such as Howard,
zoning regulations are the province of the county government, not the
state.

The bill "is nothing more than a local law that the General Assembly
has no authority to enact," said Brennan in a statement.

Local lawmakers have wrestled with the legality of limiting methadone
clinics since demands for limits were first heard last summer.

Schrader and Quinter sought legal advice from the state Attorney
General's Office before introducing their legislation, and were told
the proposal could be made as a local bill.

Schrader said this week she will ask for a second letter of legal
advice on the other legal questions raised.

"I want to make very sure we don't open ourselves up to lawsuits,"
said Schrader. "I think there is common ground that could be found.

"We knew there would be opposition," she added. "We needed to get this
out in the open to have the discussion."