Pubdate: Tue, 29 May 2012
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Natalie Alcoba, National Post, With Files From Kristin Annable

CLINIC NEEDED DESPITE CRITICS, SAYS DOCTOR

A city councillor representing bustling Corso Italia is calling on the
provincial government to stop funding a local methadone clinic that he
and residents believe is ruining efforts to revive the area.

Councillor Cesar Palacio points to unruly crowds and aggressive
panhandling near St. Clair and Dufferin avenues, where a community
clinic has been operating for 15 years. The situation has gotten so
out of control, he says, that a nearby McDonald's has installed a safe
needle disposal station in its washroom.

"That's just a symptom of the problem," says Jeff Gillan, a long-time
resident and owner of Carmen's Designs, which sells clothing for first
communions and bar mitzvahs. "I believe when you have drug addicts -
and that's what they are - around you're going to attract users of
other drugs, other than the methadone. They're hanging around with
their friends."

But a doctor at the clinic says the needle disposal station at
McDonald's demonstrates how much their service is needed in the
neighbourhood.

"There was a drug problem before the clinic was there. There still is
drug problem. We're part of the solution," said Dr. Robert Cooper, one
of three doctors who started the Dufferin-St. Clair Community Clinic
in 1997.

He summed up the uproar as "one of those not in my backyard
situations."

"The reality is we have a clinic in a place where the people who need
access to it are able to get it, close to their home, and that's where
it should be," said Dr. Cooper, who also chairs the Ontario Medical
Association section of addiction medicine.

When it opened its doors, the area around Dufferin and St. Clair had
the second-highest heroin use in the city, he said. Since then,
doctors have seen a spike in people suffering from opiate-based
addictions, such as Oxycontin. On a busy day, he will see 100
patients. Patients may come in on a daily basis to get a prescription
for methadone, a long-acting opiate that is mixed with juice and can
wean drug users off the addictive substance. Patients drink the dose.
Dr. Cooper said both aggressive panhandling and drug use on St. Clair
often have nothing to do with the clinic.

Police say the area has seen a decline in crime, but residents are
still worried about their safety, especially at that corner, which is
close to several schools and daycares.

"I tell my kids to avoid the area, but it's on the way to school,"
said Dave Battiston, a resident who co-chairs the school council at
Oakwood Collegiate Institute. "The easiest way to describe it is a
black eye. It gives the community a black eye," said Mr. Battiston,
who also raised concerns about the presence of a safe needle disposal
station in the men's washroom at McDonald's. A spokeswoman for
McDonald's said the company would comment on the matter on Tuesday.

Mr. Palacio says there is no disputing that the methadone clinic
provides a good service to those who need it. "The question is: Is
that the logical place to have it? In the middle of people's backyard,
in the heart of the residential community? Absolutely not," said Mr.
Palacio, who has started a petition asking the minister of health stop
funding the operation. He says he is willing to help the clinic find
another home. Dr. Cooper says he hasn't considered moving the clinic.
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MAP posted-by: Matt