Pubdate: Mon, 18 May 2009 Source: Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, CN NK) Page: A1 Copyright: 2009 Brunswick News Inc. Contact: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/onsite.php?page=contact Website: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2878 Author: Benjamin Shingler Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) HELP FOR DRUG ADDICTS New Provincially Funded Methadone Treatment Clinic To Open In Uptown Saint John FREDERICTON - Help is on the way. A new methadone treatment clinic is being established in uptown Saint John to assist those struggling with opiate addictions. The provincially funded clinic will treat individuals hooked on opiates - such as heroin and Dilaudid - with methadone, a synthetic opiate narcotic that can suppress an addict's craving and withdrawal. The program, which is the first of its kind in the province, won't require counselling in conjunction with treatment, and won't have a limit on the number of people that can get help. Ed Doherty, Liberal MLA for Saint John Harbour, said the clinic represents a new way of tackling drug addiction, a growing problem in his riding and around New Brunswick. "The biggest health issue in Saint John is addiction," Doherty, who worked as a doctor in the Port City prior to entering politics, said Sunday. "By having an uptown location, it means more people can have access to the service." The clinic will be situated in the Mercantile Centre on Union Street, and run by Dr. Duncan Webster. Further details of the program will be announced at the centre Tuesday. News of the clinic comes after months of pressure on the provincial government to provide more methadone treatment centres, and as Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton have experienced a wave of drug-related crime. Carl Urquhart, Opposition public safety critic and Tory MLA for York, has repeatedly called on the Liberal government to do something about the long waiting lists at the province's methadone clinics. The New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police adopted a motion in February calling for more treatment spaces. Fredericton Police Chief Barry MacKnight, president of the association, said at the time that a large portion of street crime is committed by drug addicts. He said improved methadone treatment would help reduce crime. "We know with a large proportion of those cases, once they get onto methadone, they're not doing crime," MacKnight said. Saint John's Police Chief Bill Reid, another advocate for more methadone treatment, said earlier this year that providing improved treatment ends up costing the province much less in the long term. The annual cost of a client in the methadone maintenance program is about $6,000, while it's estimated the untreated opiate user can cost society approximately $49,000 per year. The new program will cost less than $6,000 per client. The new treatment centre in Saint John means an increase from the $1,790,000 the provincial government currently devotes to methadone programs. Prior to the new clinic, Saint John received about $403,000 for 151 treatment spots, with many more addicts waiting for treatment. There are about 80 people in the program at Ridgewood Addiction Services in Saint John West, where treatment is provided along with counselling and social services. Ridgewood expects to create 50 new treatment spots in the next few months. Doherty said some clients at the Mercantile Centre will also receive counselling at Ridgewood. The program was developed in consultation with Dr. Webster, Reid, and Julie Dingwell, the executive director of AIDS Saint John. Last April, the provincial government announced four new clinics in St. Stephen, Edmundston, Campbellton and Bathurst - in addition to those in Fredericton, Saint John, Moncton and Miramichi. Improved methadone treatment was a promise in the Liberal party's 2006 Charter for Change. - - with files from Canadaeast News Service - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom