CLINICS FEAR HEROIN RELAPSE AS STATE CUTS METHADONE FUNDS

FORT LAUDERDALE - A decision by Gov. Jeb Bush to veto a $1 million
appropriation for three South Florida methadone clinics could affect more
than the patients who depend on their daily dose of the heroin substitute,
critics say.

The governor's veto earlier this month slices subsidies for 313 people
addicted to opiates, 60 of them infected with HIV, said Janice Smith-Rouse,
regional manager of the clinics: Broward Treatment Center in Hollywood,
Pompano Treatment Center and West Palm Beach Treatment Center.

Smith-Rouse said her clients are worried that if they can't get their
methadone each day they might be back on the streets looking for a fix.

"Many of them are on fixed incomes, and they pay on a sliding scale. As of
July 1, they would have to start paying $11 a day, and some of them
absolutely won't be able to afford it," Smith-Rouse said.

Last week the state's Medical Examiners Commission issued a report that
said heroin abuse is on the rise in both Broward and Palm Beach counties,
and the governor's drug czar, James McDonough, said more treatment programs
are needed to bring it under control.

Mark Senseman, spokesman for Colonial Management, of Orlando, which owns
the clinics, said the veto "came out of the blue" and could have a ripple
effect in the community.

"There's a whole potential list of issues, including the physical problems
they'll have if they're suddenly without their methadone," he said. "Would
they go back to stealing to support their habits? Would they go back to
sharing needles?"

Senseman said that if the patients with HIV return to the streets to get
heroin, they run the risk of spreading the virus.

"If even 10 percent of those HIV patients go back to sharing needles, it
seems like this could end up costing the state more in the long run," he said.

Robert Ritchie, 48, of Fort Lauderdale, a diabetic and former heroin
addict, said he does not know what he will do without the program.

"I'm scared, I can tell you that. If I have to detox, it's a scary
proposition. Heroin is easier to kick than methadone," Ritchie said.

Ritchie, disabled because he lost a leg to diabetes, said his income is
about $800 a month from Social Security, and he has been paying $5 a day
for his methadone. He said he can't afford $11 a day, which adds up to $341
a month.

Liz Hirst, the governor's press secretary, said funding for the program was
vetoed because it was considered "outside the scope of the Department of
Health services." Drug addiction programs usually fall under the Florida
Department of Children & Families.