Fully accountable

Regarding the Dec. 19 editorial referring to a “working compromise” for the proposed methadone facility, let’s not forget that the initiative for this proposed treatment center came not from the community, but from Acadia Hospital. The hospital applied to add methadone treatment to its facility on Indiana Avenue in response to a state request for proposals.

Enforcement agencies familiar with the treatment of heroin can attest to the fact that seldom is the success rate for heroin treatment higher than 50 percent. They can also attest that more than one-half of heroin addicts spend more than three years in the criminal system during their addiction.

In the proposal before us, I have not seen, nor heard, of any studies of the final effect on the public finances caused by the migration of a single “out-of-town” patient to Bangor. We can surely expect that for every single out-of-town patient who decides to stay in Bangor, we will pay for an average of nine months of incarceration, plus arrest, judicial and social services costs.

I hold the subcommittee fully accountable for their ill-fated decision. We have changed the terms of the discussion from whether to authorize the treatment center or not, to measuring the effect on the community after the fait accompli.

This is not a compromise, but a way to defeat any resistance. The authorization has been granted, and that is all that matters to Acadia. The subcommittee had the power to say no, and they chose not to do so.

Gonzalo J. Ferrer

Bangor