FEWER DRUG USERS SEEK METHADONE TREATMENT

Clinic Says Reasons for Decline Are Unclear

A year ago, the Hampton Roads Clinic and Support Services Center was
overwhelmed by the demand from former heroin addicts wanting methadone
treatment, the synthetic opiate that helps former addicts deal with
the severe pain and nausea of heroin withdrawal.

About 150 people were regular clients at the clinic - the only
methadone treatment center on the Peninsula - and more than 50 people
were on a waiting list.

Since then, the demand for methadone has gone down - dropping 30
percent since 2002, said Stephanie Savage, clinical director at the
clinic.

"We have 140 clients and no waiting list," she said.

The reasons for the reduced demand aren't clear, but Savage knows that
some former heroin addicts are receiving pain medication from private
physicians, instead of going into the methadone-treatment program.

Doctors can't prescribe methadone for drug-withdrawal symptoms, but
they're able to prescribe medication for people who have other
conditions that cause pain, Savage said.

Going to a private physician is a way that some former addicts are
avoiding the rigors of methadone treatment, Savage said.

"We require them to come every day and go for counseling, which some
might consider inconvenient," Savage said.

Methadone is a tightly regulated drug that's dispensed in carefully
measured amounts each day. Those in the program are closely monitored,
required to attend counseling sessions and often work on reducing the
amount of methadone that they take.

Local administrators can't explain the increase a year ago on the
Peninsula. But national studies and trends might offer an
explanation:

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported
that the number of people treated in emergency rooms for
heroin-related problems increased 22 percent during 2000-01, compared
with data from two years earlier. Other studies have found that heroin
use increased among high school students and college-age adults
throughout the 1990s.

Last year, the Community Services Board - which oversees the methadone
program - also faced an increased demand for all kinds of heroin
treatment. Locally, clinic administrators worked to meet the higher
demand by hiring a counselor and adding nursing hours.

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THEN AND NOW

FIVE YEARS AGO. In July 1998, Newport News received the green light to
start a drug-court program. The go-ahead came in the form of a
$400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The program also
received local and state money.

The goal of drug court is to save money and reduce crime by putting
addicts into an intensive drug treatment and rehabilitation program,
instead of sending them to jail. The program targets people charged
with simple possession who have no history of violent crime or drug
dealing. Newport News' drug court opened in November 1998.

The 13 drug-court programs in Virginia faced a serious threat earlier
this year, when the General Assembly failed to provide any money for
their operation in budget plans. Money for the programs was later added.

The Newport News program has proven to be a huge success. The Daily
Press reported in November that none of the Newport News drug-court
graduates has been arrested on new felony charges. Last month, Newport
News graduated its fourth drug-court class.