METHADONE CLINIC BILL SHOULD NOT BE MADE LAW

The Governor Should Veto This Legislation And Give Lawmakers A Chance To
Take It Back.

Bowing to misplaced public fears, Virginia lawmakers voted overwhelmingly
to pass a methadone clinic bill so restrictive that it could deny some drug
addicts treatment.

The margin was veto-proof in both the House and Senate. But Gov. Mark
Warner should veto SB 607 anyway, and legislators should reconsider their
support for a law that could so hurt their communities.

The bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. William Wampler, bars
methadone clinics within a half-mile of schools or licensed day-care
centers. It is based on the premise that the drug treatment centers will
increase crime and lure children into addiction.

But, while community fears of addiction to opioids such as OxyContin and
heroin are well warranted, fears of methadone maintenance programs are not.
The assumption that clinics will cause crime to increase in surrounding
neighborhoods is unsupported by actual experience in Virginia localities.

Rather, studies show, methadone treatment reduces the criminal activity of
opioid addicts no longer desperate for their next fix.

Crime and drug addiction do go hand and hand. And Virginia lawmakers have
voted to put up a major barrier to treatment.

"We're not saying that treatment shouldn't be available," state Sen.
Brandon Bell avows. Of course not. Politicians are always ready with a
steady stream of promises about drug treatment and crime prevention. It's
political boilerplate.

The problem is not that anyone is saying treatment shouldn't be available.
It's that treatment wouldn't be available in some areas where it should be.

Heavily populated Northern Virginia is exempted from the bill. And in
Roanoke, the bill will not affect a methadone clinic that already is
planned. But a map of the legislation's impact shows it would put much of
the city off-limits. Surely other localities will be similarly affected.

Lawmakers should ponder the effects of a bill that does not intend to harm
drug addicts or the communities where they live - but almost certainly will.