Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2013
Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225

GET ALL THE FACTS ON DRUG CLINICS

It is understandable that some people in central Kitchener are alarmed
by the news that a third methadone clinic will open its doors on King
Street East this summer. These clinics treat drug addicts, and for
many people such addicts are synonymous with trouble and even crime.

It is understandable, too, that the city politicians who represent
these residents and business people want to help them. After all, one
small area of Kitchener is being told to shoulder a burden no other
part of Waterloo Region must accept. To many people, this smacks of
unfairness.

But before legitimate concerns give way to unreasonable fears or even
unfounded panic, everyone needs to take a deep breath, become informed
and look at this issue from every angle. Methadone clinics provide an
important and necessary tax-funded service: They help drug addicts
beat their addiction, and that is in everyone's interest because, in
addition to making people well again, the clinics reduce crime by
reducing the market for drug dealers.

If Kitchener politicians want to do something that matters, they need
to go beyond the motion they passed on Monday calling on the operators
of methadone clinics to voluntarily keep their operations at least
three kilometres from one another. While showing moral support for
people living near the clinics, the motion lacks teeth and does
nothing in a practical sense.

That said, city hall can play a vital leadership role. It should begin
with a fact-finding mission that examines how the two Kitchener
clinics are operating today. After the first clinic opened in 2011on
King East, neighbours complained about unlawful parking, litter,
public urination, scattered bicycles, loud conversations and a steady
stream of people.

What's the situation now at the two clinics? If there are problems -
and this newspaper is not being inundated by reports of them - what
are they? Are crimes being committed? Are bylaws being broken? Do some
people simply find the clinics and their clientele a nuisance? What do
neighbouring businesses and homeowners think? Surely we must know the
nature of the problems before we can determine what the right response
should be.

Once we have a better handle on the issues, the city, as well as the
people operating these clinics, should work with homeowners and the
business community to address every reasonable concern. Bylaw
enforcement officers and police can, if necessary, assist as well.

Meanwhile, Kitchener should consult with other Ontario communities
that are dealing with the same issue. London's experience could prove
especially instructive. In 2011, politicians in that city temporarily
allowed no new methadone clinics or pharmacies while city hall crafted
new rules for these operations. Those rules were later passed. One of
them prohibits methadone clinics from opening within 300 metres of a
school. But the city nixed a proposal to install security cameras at
the clinics. London likely has something to teach Kitchener about how
to live with these clinics.

Finally, Kitchener council should call on the Ontario Ministry of
Health to get involved. London sought the province's support but was
spurned. Though the Health Ministry funds methadone treatment, it does
not involve itself in the administration of the drug or operation of
the clinic. But why can't it step in and help municipalities across
the province that are wrestling with this issue and lack the resources
and expertise the Health Ministry can boast?

It is ironic that as debate rages over the methadone clinics, a group
of philanthropic business people has delivered a $1-million gift to
help the House of Friendship build a residential treatment centre in
Kitchener for women battling addictions. Such largesse and such
compassion deserve praise. But aren't methadone clinics also
performing compassionate acts? Many of the people who receive this
treatment - which has a 75 per cent success rate - are battling
addictions they developed while being treated for work-related
injuries or other health problems.

They are neighbours who deserve to be considered just as much as the
people living in the King Street East community. Indeed, some of the
residents in this community may one day have need of just such a
clinic. There's no reason that clinic can't operate legally, safely
and as an accepted part of the city.
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MAP posted-by: Matt