THE UGLY TRUTH BEHIND CLINICS

David Gnass, chief executive officer of National Specialty Clinics, says
that we have 70 addicts in Roanoke driving elsewhere (Nov. 13 news article,
"Roanoke area can support 2 centers, clinic official says").

Is that how he justifies the claim that Roanoke can support one clinic to
serve 200 and one clinic to serve 300? Since when does 70 equal 500?

He also says it's unfortunate that hysteria has taken over. I passed
hysteria a while back. Anyone can get on the Internet and find that these
clinics are popping up all over West Virginia and North Carolina, and now
Virginia.

Also, they can find how methadone deaths have increased 80 percent in North
Carolina. Police in Mercer, W.Va., say methadone is worse than OxyContin
ever thought of being. Some patients are allowed up to 30 take-home doses
and in some cases sell them, which is what happened when methadone was
passed around at a party in West Virginia and the man who took it died.

Instead of just a handful, we all need to be a bit more educated and a bit
more hysterical. I refuse to let my child or anyone else's to be the next
methadone death story on the Internet.

APRIL MOORE, ROANOKE