METHADONE CLINIC PLANNED FOR REGION

Area residents now must travel to Galax or Charlottesville for treatment.

A drug rehabilitation center plans to open a methadone clinic in Southwest
Roanoke County that will be a treatment hub for addicts of opium-based drugs
such as OxyContin and heroin.

Officials with the Life Center of Galax said Wednesday they have signed a
lease with the owner of a building at 3390 Colonial Ave. The building, which
sits at Ogden Road and Colonial Avenue, is the former site of a family
medical clinic.

When the operation reaches full capacity, between 200 and 300 recovering
addicts will visit the clinic regularly to receive doses of methadone,
according to Tina Renee Bullins, chief executive officer of the Life Center.

For the past year, the Life Center has been considering opening a satellite
methadone clinic in the Roanoke Valley to address a growing problem with
addiction to OxyContin, a prescription painkiller often converted into a
street drug.

There has not been a methadone clinic in the Roanoke Valley since the early
1970s, and area residents must travel to Galax or Charlottesville for
treatment.

"Roanoke needs it," Bullins said.

There is no projected opening date, as the proposed clinic must pass a
battery of inspections and license reviews before accepting patients.
Methadone clinics are closely regulated by a number of state and federal
agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia Board
of Pharmacy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Bullins said the site does not need to be rezoned because a methadone clinic
falls into the same category as the medical facility that previously
occupied the building.

Methadone clinics are often controversial, with adjacent property owners
raising concerns about an influx of recovering drug addicts in their
neighborhood and the accompanying problems with traffic and crime.

Bullins said those fears are misplaced. But, she said, officials with the
Life Center will be happy to speak with any residents who might have
concerns.

"We are committed to helping people understand that it is a form of
treatment and that a lot of the stereotypes don't apply," she said. For the
most part, people who enroll in methadone clinics are committed to getting
off drugs and pose few problems to the surrounding area, Life Center
officials say.

The proposed site is close to Tanglewood Mall, a number of apartment
complexes and New Vista Montessori School.

Methadone is a synthetic narcotic that curbs addicts' craving for
opium-based drugs and prevents them from going into withdrawal. Addicts who
enroll in methadone clinics are treated on an outpatient basis, getting
daily doses of the drug in a liquid form while also receiving counseling and
other forms of treatment.

Methadone also is dispensed in a tablet form frequently prescribed by
physicians as a painkiller.

While studies have shown that methadone is an effective treatment tool, the
drug also has been abused by a growing number of addicts. Officials with the
state medical examiner's office and state police have said methadone abusers
in Southwest Virginia apparently use the tablet form .

Last year, there were 62 fatal methadone overdoses in the western half of
Virginia, according to Assistant Chief Medical Examiner William Massello.
There were 26 fatal overdoses attributed to oxycodone, the active ingredient
in OxyContin, and another 21 from heroin or morphine, Massello said.

Officials with the Life Center, which operates methadone clinics in Galax
and Tazewell County, have said they have not had problems with fatal
overdoses or widespread crime by patients - a statement that is backed up by
law enforcement.

In an interview last year, Galax Police Chief Rick Clark said the clinic did
not produce an unusually large number of calls to police. Opinions from
nearby residents were mixed, with the primary concern being heavy traffic
early in the morning when recovering addicts arrive to be "dosed" before
going to work.

Other law enforcement officials are more skeptical, however.

"You take somebody off of heroin, and you're going to get them hooked on
methadone, and you're going to have them coming in from all areas of the
state," Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle said last year. Botetourt
County was one of the areas considered by the Life Center for a clinic.

Yet few dispute the need for additional drug treatment options in the area.

"Opiate addiction continues to be an undertreated problem in the area, and
the Life Center is pleased to be closer to offering these services in
Roanoke," Bullins said.