METHADONE METHODOLOGY

With three methadone clinics, Bangor has done more than its share to combat drug addiction in Maine. Without a comprehensive approach to new clinic siting from the state and other communities moving to ban or severely restrict such clinics, Bangor officials are right to be concerned.

Because the state’s eight methadone clinics are not operating at capacity and other treatments are gaining favor, that concern, however, may be premature – or too late.

When the state in 2000 said it planned to approve a methadone clinic in Bangor, community outrage first threatened to quash the project and ultimately slowed it down. The state’s heavy-handed approach, that did not include discussion with city officials before the clinic was proposed, was part of the problem. The city wisely created a special committee to look into the need for and consequences – both positive and negative – of such a clinic. Their work laid the foundation for a more comprehensive approach to clinic siting.

Since then, two more clinics have opened in Bangor. There are eight statewide: three in Portland, one in Waterville and one in Calais, in addition to Bangor’s. A clinic in Rockland is awaiting approval to open.

According to figures from the state Office of Substance Abuse, the Bangor facilities are licensed to serve 1,650 clients, but currently provide treatment to about 1,250. Although drug abuse remains are large problem in the state, recent addicts and those who become addicted through prescription use of pain killers may be helped with buprenorphine, which can be administered at a doctor’s office. Unlike methadone, buprenorphine doesn’t require daily visits to a clinic, making it a less disruptive form of treatment.

Bangor City Councilor Richard Stone accepts the need for and benefits of methadone treatment. But, he rightly wonders why so much of that treatment must be in Bangor. If there is need in other parts of the state, that’s where the clinics should be, not in Bangor, he says. That’s why he has introduced a proposed ordinance that would limit the growth of methadone clinics in the city. The ordinance, which would allow expansion if it was proven to be necessary to serve residents, is the subject of a public hearing at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

Because methadone treatment often requires daily trips to a clinic, clients who live far from a clinic spend a large part of their day pursuing methadone, making it difficult for them to have a job or care for a family.

A snapshot of the clients at the three Bangor clinics shows 963 clients being served around noon on June 9. Of these, 777 or 81 percent were from Penobscot County. Second was Hancock County at 68 clients and Waldo County, with 44 clients, was third. What the numbers don’t show is how many addicts in need of treatment live in outlying areas.

This is where the state could be most helpful. By assessing where the need is greatest and working to locate treatment facilities there, the state would play a positive role and could help alleviate the concerns of service center communities such as Bangor that they are carrying a disproportionate burden.