METHADONE CLINIC TO APPEAL JUDGE'S DECISION

JOHNSON CITY- The attorney for a proposed Johnson City methadone clinic
said Wednesday he will appeal an administrative law judge's decision to
vacate the clinic's certificate of need to open a facility within the city.

Last week in Nashville, Judge James Hornsby ruled that the Tennessee Health
Facilities Commission - now known as the Tennessee Health Services and
Development Agency - did not have a quorum in June 2002 when it voted to
grant a certificate of need to the Johnson City Addiction Research and
Treatment Center.

Janet Jones, a commissioner on the THFC, recused herself from the vote due
to her husband having a conflict of interest.

Because Jones recused herself, the commission lost its quorum of members to
act, Hornsby wrote in his order.

Hornsby ruled that the clinic and the agency had until May 20 to file a
notice of appeal.

Jerry Taylor, attorney for the methadone clinic, said Wednesday that his
client would be filing an appeal.

"We will be appealing the matter to the Davidson County Chancery Court,"
Taylor said. "We feel like it's a more appropriate forum to have it in."

Taylor said they would be waiting until after the May 20 deadline, when
Hornsby's ruling becomes law, before filing an appeal.

"You can either ask for reconsideration by the judge or seek a review by
the full THSDA. If you don't do either one of those, it becomes a final
order and then you can appeal to chancery court," said Taylor. "It's
essentially a legal issue with a lot of equitable considerations involved,
and we just felt that chancery court would be the best route."

Vice Mayor Steve Darden said last week Johnson City would fight an appeal
with the same vigor used to have the certificate of need declared void.

Once the May 20 deadline passes, Taylor said they then have 60 days to file
the appeal.

Another option for the methadone clinic would be to resubmit the
certificate of need.

"That is an option, but the site and zoning would be an issue since the
city rezoned the property," Taylor said. "If we were to re-file, there
would be some issues involving that.

"Our position is we have a valid CON, and at this point we don't see why we
should reopen that issue."

Technically, Johnson City did not rezone the property where the proposed
methadone clinic is to be located - 200 W. Fairview Ave.

Jim Donnelly, a planner for Johnson City, said the City Commission in
October voted to restrict methadone clinics to MS-1 (medical services)
districts allowable as special exceptions requiring the Board of Zoning
Appeals' approval.

The Fairview Avenue site is zoned B-2 (general business), which allows such
structures as offices, hotels, motels, banks and churches, but not
methadone clinics.

Taylor said it is not unusual for communities to offer stiff resistance
against methadone clinics opening in their area.

Opponents to methadone clinics claim other drugs exist, such as
Buprenorphine, which do a better job in eliminating heroin addiction.

"I would say my client disagrees with that, and there's a lot of data and
studies that would refute (those claims)," Taylor said. "I think there's a
need in Johnson City, and I think we showed that need in front of the
commission when it granted the CON."

Taylor said once the appeal is filed, he anticipates the matter will be
resolved in the next six to 12 months.

The owner of the proposed Johnson City clinic also has methadone clinics in
Nashville and Memphis and has a certificate of need for a new clinic in
Knoxville.

The proposed clinic in Johnson City would offer methadone treatment for a
projected 250 people in its first two years of operation.

Methadone is a legal, synthetic opioid that is used as a substitute for
heroin and other addictive painkillers. Regular oral consumption of the
drug blocks heroin withdrawal symptoms, one of the biggest hurdles for
addicts to overcome when they try to quit the drug.