Pubdate: Mon, 12 Aug 2002
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: A01
Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Serge F. Kovaleski, Washington Post Staff Writer
Note: Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

DRUG MARKET THRIVES BY METHADONE CLINICS

D.C. Patients Must Face 'McPharmacy'

In a sullen ritual played out each day, more than 1,000 drug addicts 
descend on a Northeast Washington neighborhood off New York Avenue to 
receive treatment at the three public methadone programs in the area.

They are a primed clientele for the drug dealers who operate out of a 
nearby McDonald's parking lot. Brazenly hustling in broad daylight, the 
dealers sell a jumble of pharmaceuticals to an unrelenting stream of buyers 
- -- an operation that D.C. police describe as the largest open-air pill 
market in the region.

Many addicts in the midst of treatment say that the availability of so many 
drugs, also including heroin and crack, presents daily temptations when 
they are grappling with the physical and psychological complexities of 
trying to overcome substance abuse.

The McDonald's parking lot abuts the District government's largest 
methadone clinic and is within three blocks of the two other treatment centers.

On a recent morning, a dealer who goes by the name King Bad collected a 
swift $2,500 in sales, mostly from hard-core drug users eager for 
painkillers and sedatives such as OxyContin, Xanax and Percoset, as well as 
antibiotics for infected needle lesions and blood pressure medication to 
ease withdrawal symptoms.

"This is the place for pills, any pills you want, man," boasted King Bad, 
52, a longtime heroin addict who unsuccessfully tried methadone 
rehabilitation at one of the nearby facilities.

"More than half my customers are in and out of those clinics. This is a way 
for me to survive," said the dealer, who declined to give his real name out 
of fear the police would track him down.

Dubbed "McPharmacy" by police narcotics investigators, the 
prescription-drug bazaar on New York Avenue and First Street NE is a 
formidable obstacle for those seeking help at the methadone clinics, D.C. 
health officials say.

"I get a complaint at least once a day from patients who say they have to 
walk through that maze of drug dealers," said Tyrone V. Patterson, manager 
of the Model Treatment Program, which has almost 500 patients a day and is 
adjacent to the McDonald's. Patterson has a clear view of the illicit 
activity: The large windows in his office overlook the parking lot.

Also affected are a second D.C. Department of Health clinic, part of the 
agency's $6.2 million methadone program, and a $725,000 methadone treatment 
service run by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

The clinics, with the assistance of police and private security guards, 
have managed to keep drug activity away from the entrances of their 
buildings, but the market continues to thrive and has spilled over onto 
surrounding streets.

"It's like walking through a minefield. At one time, I couldn't get in or 
out without being accosted or succumbing to the drug trade," lamented 
Philip, 46, a recovering heroin addict who did not want to give his last 
name. "If you can make it through this test, you can probably make it 
through most tests."

The dealers said they are merely exploiting a market that guarantees robust 
returns and enables many of them to support their own drug habits.

Drug dealers have been a presence for years at the two-story McDonald's at 
75 New York Ave. NE, but police have recently noticed greater activity at 
the site, coinciding with a surge in heroin use in the city. And Cmdr. Alan 
J. Dreher of the 1st Police District said his office has been receiving 
more community complaints about the open-air market, which also caters to 
well-heeled customers from the District, Maryland and Virginia.

John Brennan, a sergeant with the D.C. police major narcotics branch, said 
that a citywide strike force has made more than 200 arrests at the drug 
market in the past two years but that the impact has been minimal. Brennan 
said that new dealers emerge almost as quickly as the police can make 
arrests and that many of those apprehended and charged receive sentences 
that do not involve jail time.

Ron Keiper, a detective in the narcotics branch, said many of the addicts 
showing up at the methadone clinics are not there out of choice but because 
of court orders, another factor that contributes to the area around the 
McDonald's being "a haven of bad guys."

William Edwards, who owns the McDonald's, declined to be interviewed. In 
two written statements, he said he has been working vigilantly with police 
and the community to control the drug dealing.

"At my own expense, there is a constant presence of uniformed off-duty 
Metropolitan Police officers in my store. In fact, 21 off-duty police 
officers work on the premises on a weekly basis," one of the statements said.

On a weekday morning late last month, no police officer was visible at the 
restaurant while dealers in the parking lot openly handled large wads of 
cash and dispensed copious amounts of pharmaceuticals. "They [McDonald's] 
don't mess with us because we spend money with them," King Bad said.

That morning, a man who identified himself only as Rodney, 39, illustrated 
another dimension to the drug dealing at the McDonald's: Not only do some 
addicts in treatment continue to buy drugs there, they also sell. Soon 
after receiving his regular dose of liquid methadone at the Model Treatment 
Program on First Street NE, Rodney made his way to the parking lot to hawk 
OxyContin.

"You looking for Oxy? I got it here, right here," he said to a passerby who 
declined his offer of an 80-milligram pill for $40 or a 20-milligram tablet 
for $20.

Standing by a trash bin a few steps away, a gaunt woman waved a $20 bill at 
another dealer who obliged by furtively giving her Catapres, a prescription 
drug used for high blood pressure.

Capitalizing on their New York Avenue locale near Union Station, the 
dealers also cater to more upscale customers from across the metropolitan 
area. At one point last week, five cars, including a Mercedes, a BMW and a 
Pathfinder sport-utility vehicle, idled in the McDonald's lot as the 
drivers gave their orders to several attending dealers.

"I need some more Percoset," the driver of the BMW, which bore Maryland 
tags, told a dealer before slipping $60 through the window and motoring 
away with a dozen pills. Within seconds of that transaction, the driver of 
the SUV stepped out of his vehicle, which displayed Virginia tags, and 
handed the dealer $40 for 20 Xanax.

Soon after, a man behind the wheel of a rickety Honda pulled up alongside 
King Bad and announced he was selling methadone pills for the "wholesale 
price" of $5 apiece. King Bad quickly accepted the deal, snapping up a 
dozen or so pills, which he planned to sell for the market price of $10 per 
tablet.

Patterson said his clinic "is supposed to be a symbol of help and hope and 
not a symbol of open drug-dealing." But he also noted that he has used his 
second-floor office view of the McDonald's parking lot to stress a lesson 
to recovering addicts: What they see happening in the lot is something they 
must reject outright if they are to succeed in their treatment.

The clinic has moved up its schedule by an hour, giving out methadone from 
6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., to reduce the concentration of patients who come to 
the facility before going to work. The three methadone programs also offer 
bus service to and from their facilities.

James T. Speight Jr., director of the second D.C. Health Department clinic, 
the UPO Comprehensive Treatment Center, said his facility strongly urges 
the 380 methadone patients it sees each day not to linger in the 
neighborhood after treatment.

"We view the pushers as predators because the individuals we work with are 
sick and vulnerable people who are being preyed on," Speight said.

Debbie Jackson, who runs the Veteran Affairs Community Clinic -- which 
treats about 180 patients daily in its methadone program -- said the drug 
dealers are ruthlessly trying to cash in on the fact that recovering 
addicts are susceptible to relapses. "You are not going to sell umbrellas 
in the desert," Jackson said.

Narcotics investigators said the dealers are getting their pharmaceuticals 
largely through people who have illegally obtained prescription pads, often 
through connections at hospitals, clinics or doctor's offices. They 
sometimes make huge numbers of photocopies to last them long periods. 
Others sell drugs that have been prescribed to them legitimately by 
doctors, or they find a doctor who will knowingly write a fraudulent 
prescription.

Some of the individuals involved in illicit pill distribution have also 
been found to have prescription cards from several stores so they can get 
many prescriptions filled without drawing suspicion at any one pharmacy.

Some dealers also buy people's Medicaid prescription cards for up to $100 
apiece, allowing the dealers to fill prescriptions at little or no cost.

Law enforcement authorities said that compared with the dozens of other 
open-air drug markets across the District, the one at the McDonald's 
generally draws an older crowd of buyers and sellers and has not 
experienced the violence associated with turf wars in the crack cocaine and 
marijuana trades.

Brennan said that although there have been isolated situations in which 
doctors have been busted for writing illegal prescriptions for drugs that 
are then sold on the street, winning a case is a formidable undertaking. 
"One of the hardest things to do is to get the doctors," he said. "They are 
generally intelligent people who know how to cover their tracks and hire 
the best lawyers."

Without providing details, Dreher said police officers will be more visible 
around the McDonald's as part of a two-pronged approach aimed at reining in 
the dealing. "Arresting your way out of the problem is one thing, but you 
need some decent outreach from social services, and we are looking at 
getting that going," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager