Pubdate: Mon, 14 Jul 2008
Source: Rochester Times (NH)
Copyright: 2008 Geo. J. Foster Company
Contact:  http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ROCNEWS
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4729
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)

METHADONE CLINICS UNDER FIRE AGAIN

What authority should communities have in the clinics' 
location?

The licensing of methadone clinics in New Hampshire is coming under
review.

It comes following a request by the board of selectmen in Conway that
the state not license any new clinics  until host communities are
given more authority over  where they are located.

It is not the first time the location of methadone clinics has come
under fire by communities or their  residents.

It's a hot-button development issue -- a  not-in-my-back-yard
one.

Methadone is a synthetic opiate -- one used in the treatment of
heroin addiction and addiction to some  prescription
painkillers.

Opposition to the siting of clinics is a not unusual or  even
unreasonable concern related to drug addicts on the scene in the
communities and neighborhoods in which  the clinics are located or
might be located. But the  arguments are often more emotional than
fact-based.

Conway's request of Gov. John Lynch came following a push by a
Massachusetts group of methadone clinics to  open a facility in the
White Mountains community -- one  of the gateways to the state's
four-season tourist  regions.

Selectmen want more control, and until they're able to see it
inserted in a 2000 law governing the clinics,  they want a moratorium
on licenses.

Local control of development is nothing new in New  Hampshire. It's a
matter of regulating orderly growth  and making sure the cities and
towns can maintain  public safety. What Conway wants in the form of
law is  the ability to fine tune the authority.

The creation of clusters of medical facilities and  medical
professionals is not uncommon in the cities and  towns of New
Hampshire. The communities recognize a  common symbiosis among
professionals and facilities in  proximity to hospitals -- sometimes,
as in the case of  Route 108 in Somersworth, within easy reach of two
or  more hospitals. These clusters are formed in compliance  with the
community's planning and zoning regulations.

Should a community have jurisdiction over the practice  of legitimate
medicine within its boundaries? Maybe not  -- at least not if the
exclusionary thinking of boards  of selectmen like the one in Conway
are determined to  have merit.

What is the history of methadone treatment? How successful is it in
combating the addictions it  targets? What if any real public safety
issues have  been created in the wake of methadone clinics being 
licensed in communities similar to those in New  Hampshire?

Gov. Lynch has asked Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick
Toumpas and Attorney General Kelly  Ayotte to look into the matter and
make suggestions. It  is way the way to address the legitimate
concerns of  people like those of the selectmen and others -- as 
policy matters related to health, safety and law  supportable in terms
of the state constitution.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin