CALAIS – As many as 80 opiate addicts living in Washington County are ready to start methadone treatment at Discovery House, the state’s fifth and newest narcotics treatment program that will open within weeks in Calais.

The facility awaits receipt of both state and federal licenses to operate the private clinic, Carrie Perkins-McDonald, its programs manager, said at an open house Monday afternoon. The facility already has passed its inspections and merely awaits the paperwork.

The doors are expected to open within two weeks.

The smooth arrival of the clinic to the city has been two years in the planning. It grew out of the grant-sponsored Neighbors Against Drug Abuse and the Washington County Continuum of Care, both coalitions of health care providers and community leaders.

The clinic is located on Beech Street, in the same building as the Subway sandwich shop that fronts North Street. Its 1,400 square feet enable the clinic to work with as many as 200 clients, under federal regulations.

Its arrival contrasts with what is occurring in Rockland, where the proposed location of another methadone clinic has resulted in substantial community opposition in recent weeks. A proposed clinic in Bangor has also drawn concern from some merchants near the location.

Perkins-McDonald said the difference in the response is that Washington County residents have been peppered for years with education about the affects of opiate addiction and drug abuse.

“We have done a lot of education that this clinic was coming,” said Perkins-McDonald, whose previous position was as the planning and special programs coordinator for the Regional Medical Center at Lubec.

“It’s here, and it will save the state tremendous amounts for clients who don’t have to drive out of Washington County,” she said.

The open house drew a smattering of professionals who have been anticipating its opening. Linda Belfiore, the transportation services director for the Washington Hancock Community Agency, was one of them.

She welcomed the clinic, noting that her agency has been working with clients who now drive daily to any of Maine’s four other methadone clinics. Those are in South Portland, Westbrook, Waterville and Bangor.

Also on hand was Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais, a nurse practitioner who will become the clinic’s part-time nurse practitioner when it opens.

The clinic will employ 11 people at its opening, including Perkins-McDonald; Perry; Mary Beers, an administrative assistant; and two nurses, full-timer Barbara Smith and part-timer Ellen Sable.

Dr. John Tkach will serve as the clinic’s medical director. Additional employees will include two counselors and those in charge of maintenance, cleaning and security.

Methadone is a synthetic narcotic that was developed in Germany during World War II to offset the shortage of morphine. It has been used since the 1960s to treat people addicted to heroin, and more recently, to opiate painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet.

Properly administered, methadone satisfies an addict’s cravings without mental impairment, allowing the user to live a more normal life. Depending on the level of addiction to opiates, methadone users typically receive treatment for between two and five years, although some need it for the rest of their lives, Perkins-McDonald said.