DRUG CENTER TO BEGIN METHADONE PROGRAM

HIGH POINT -- Alcohol and Drug Services will begin an outpatient methadone
program on Monday.

The agency has had a similar service in Greensboro since 1972. It costs the
agency close to $1 million a year; last year, 300 patients received
treatment. The program will be offered at the ADS Adult Residential
Treatment center on West Wendover Avenue.

"We hope to grow a client population of 100 persons per day," said Ronnie
Moore, ADS director of medical services. "The benefits of opening another
location in High Point are convenience for city residents and those from
Randolph and Davidson counties, as well as convenience for us, since we plan
to offer a transportation program for those who need it."

Methadone, when given in proper doses, can help end addiction to opiate
drugs such as heroin, Dilaudid, morphine, codeine, Vicodin and OxyContin.
The length of treatment depends on an individual's condition as well as the
duration and intensity of the addiction.

"We have the entire gamut of professionals go through our program," said
Chuck Fortune, ADS executive director. "Most of them are very stable folks
who are working, raising families and paying their taxes, but there's a
moral judgment out there that associates opiates with 'street people.'"

A significant number of patients, said Moore, are people who were in car
accidents, industrial mishaps or who have chronic pain because of illness.

"They are prescribed morphine or codeine for pain and gradually build up a
tolerance to it," Moore said. "Sometimes, patients take more and more to
compensate, and the result can be abuse or addiction."

The High Point program is likely to cost $400,000 or more per year,
according to Fortune. Although both programs are assisted by federal funds,
that money pays less than half the annual expenses, which include staff,
supplies, transportation and security.

Methadone is a controlled substance that can become addictive if taken
improperly.

"We just saw the need to get into High Point and make sure that all of our
services are conveniently available there," Fortune said.

"We may not be hearing as much about the problem of addiction lately," Moore
added, "but it's not going away."