Bringing Bangor together

Bangor City Councilor Nichi Farnham got it right in her final point at the final meeting of the city’s Special Committee on Heroin Addiction last week. Critics may pick away endlessly at the conditions agreed to in the establishment of a methadone treatment facility here, she said, but the committee’s achievements have been considerable, and now it was time to move forward.

No one on any side of the methadone issue thought the question of a facility here got off to a good start a year ago. Clearly, it did not and, clearly, it divided the city. But the special committee – Councilors Joe Baldacci, Pat Blanchette and Farnham, Clifton Eames, Jack Adams and Sally Arata – listened to countless comments on an emotional issue, found agreement among themselves and crafted an accord that won the backing of the state and set standards for oversight and measuring impact that could make a significant difference here while establishing a model for Maine. Certainly the process wasn’t perfect, and it frustrated members of the public at times, but considering where this debate began, it was a real improvement.

In addition to raising the level of understanding on this issue, the committee created a broad-based community advisory group that will share information with the public and try to minimize any negative impact that a methadone clinic might bring. It requested that the state look to spread the delivery of treatment over a broader area, and one result already has been seen with plans for treatment in Washington County. It called for an outside evaluator to review the impact and provide technical assistance. It highlighted the need for the state and medical providers to acknowledge and include alternative or emerging treatment, such as buprenorphine. The process included a lot of compromises, more safeguards and even a new spot for the facility. Like all negotiations, neither side was entirely happy with the outcome, but the point remains that a workable agreement was reached.

And there is much more to do. The results of a biannual state survey of drug abuse among teens were released yesterday. The numbers do not include drug abuse among Bangor teens because the schools in this city did not participate in this study. Similarly, the Bangor schools did not return a survey from the special committee on drug abuse, although schools from the surrounding region did. Bangor school officials made a decision several years ago to minimize the number of surveys in the schools and may not like the way some surveys are written, but given that one of the arguments against the methadone facility here was a lack of information regarding drug use here, finding ways to begin to understand the extent of the local drug problem is important.

That’s another part of moving forward to combat this problem, and one, like all others, that needs to be carried out civilly, with an eye toward bringing the community together rather than helping Maine’s drug problems pull it apart. Councilor Farnham is right: Bangor is better off because of the special committee’s work. That needs to be acknowledged as the city moves forward in trying to eliminate drug abuse.