Pubdate: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 Source: The Herald-Mail (MD) Website: http://www.herald-mail.com/ Address: P.O. Box 439, Hagerstown, MD 21742 Contact: 2001 The Herald-Mail Company Fax: (301)714-0245 Author: Geoff Brown Note: Staff Writer Andrew Schotz contributed to this story METHADONE CLINIC GETS INITIAL OK FROM W. VA. A Maryland company has cleared the first hurdle in its bid to open a methadone clinic in Martinsburg, W.Va., to treat heroin and other narcotics addicts. Martinsburg's mayor supports the move. The city's police chief opposes it. Neither had heard of the planned clinic before a reporter told them Thursday evening. The Martinsburg Institute of Wheaton, Md., cited a need for the clinic to help addicts in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle because the company's Frederick, Md., facility treats 88 patients from Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties, according to the West Virginia Health Care Authority's Aug. 1 opinion granting the company a "certificate of need." Washington County Health Officer William Christoffel said this week that most clients of a methadone clinic in Hagerstown are from West Virginia. The clinic in Hagerstown opened in May amid opposition from city and county officials. One critic was Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith, who said cocaine is a much bigger problem than heroin in Washington County and suggested that the clinic could attract more crime. This week, Hagerstown's Mayor and City Council discussed how to prevent the methadone clinic, which has a temporary license, from receiving a regular operating license in the fall. Methadone is a narcotic that helps lessen the addiction to heroin and other opiates. Martinsburg Police Chief Ted Anderson said he feels the same way Smith does about a methadone clinic. "I really don't feel that the City of Martinsburg or Berkeley County has that substantial a (heroin) problem," he said. "You'd want to place this in a place where there's a definite need for it. ... Cocaine and marijuana are still the prevalent drugs here." Asked if he supports the proposed clinic, Martinsburg Mayor George Karos said, "I certainly do." "I don't think this community is any different from any community. We have our drug problems. ... Any city this size needs a detox center," he said, naming heroin, cocaine and prescription drugs such as the pain reliever OxyContin as among those often abused. A certificate of need is the first step in West Virginia's review process for drug treatment clinics. West Virginia now has only one licensed methadone clinic - in Charleston - according to the West Virginia Health Facilities, Licensure and Certification office. Two proposed clinics, in Martinsburg and Clarksburg, have received certificates of need, but have not yet been licensed, according to an employee who said she processed the applications but did not want to be named. A man who answered the telephone at the number listed for the Martinsburg Institute said employees there have been told not to comment about the proposed Martinsburg clinic. A call to the president of the company, Neal Berch, was not returned. Other Martinsburg and Berkeley County officials expressed surprise at the news that the state had approved the first step toward the opening of a clinic. "No one's ever discussed it with me," said Berkeley County Sheriff W. Randy Smith. Smith said heroin use is rising in Berkeley County, but "I don't think it's out of control in proportion to any of the other things going on." He said officials in West Virginia and nationwide have been concerned about abuse of OxyContin, which officials have linked to a number of deaths. Berkeley County Commissioner Robert L. Burkhart said he had not heard of plans for the clinic. "I know nothing about it," Burkhart said. He said he believed such a facility could be subject to zoning laws if it were within the City of Martinsburg or two other county areas that have zoning. There are no countywide zoning laws in Berkeley County. Martinsburg City Hospital spokeswoman Vicque Charrette said hospital officials were not aware of plans for a clinic. The location for a clinic has not been identified yet, according to the Health Care Authority's written opinion. Martinsburg Institute plans to find and lease a 2,000-square-foot facility, the document said. According to the opinion, the steps to certify and open a methadone clinic are: Find a location; get a lease; renovate the space; develop a policy and procedure manual; get federal Drug Enforcement Administration approval; hire staff; obtain a behavioral health license; and "initiate services." It was unclear Thursday whether local approval is necessary. The Charleston clinic went into operation Dec. 1, 2000, after a process that took nine months, according to the West Virginia Health Facilities, Licensure and Certification employee who processed the application. In its opinion, the Health Care Authority determined there was a need for such a treatment facility in Martinsburg. The opinion estimates that the area including West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, Washington County, and Clarke and Frederick counties in Virginia has an "unmet need" to treat 1,148 drug abuse patients, 124 of them for narcotics abuse. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth