In October, a certain set of people -- those with chronic illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease, or cancer patients suffering from the debilitating effects of chemotherapy -- can become certified, and legal, smokers of marijuana. "That part of the law will be in place," William Rubenstein, state commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection, said in a recent interview. Where they get that marijuana will be, for the near future, up to them. The state's system of growing, distributing and selling medical marijuana -- approved by the General Assembly last month and signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on June 1 -- will be a complicated business. [continues 932 words]
DANBURY -- The city will get a new methadone clinic before the year's end, run by a private company and based in the community rather than inside Danbury Hospital. The state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services announced Thursday it has chosen Connecticut Counseling Centers Inc., which operates clinics in Waterbury and Norwalk, to run the Danbury operation. It will take over from Danbury Hospital, which in March announced plans to shut its 120-patient clinic. "We're ecstatic," said Richard Bilangi, executive director of Connecticut Counseling Centers, based in Middlebury. "We were one of the original bidders on the program the hospital has been running. The second time proved the charm for us." [continues 485 words]
DANBURY -- Danbury Hospital officially notified the state it wants to stop treating heroin addicts with methadone, ceding the work to a privately run, community clinic. At the same time, the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has received a $150,000 grant to begin planning a new drug program in the Danbury area. Sam Segal, policy director for the department's substance abuse services unit, said the grant may be used to assess where a methadone clinic might be located in the wake of the hospital's decision. [continues 561 words]
Danbury Hospital can move its methadone maintenance program to any city neighborhood where zoning allows medical offices, said Assistant Corporation Counsel Dan Casagrande. The attorney gave this opinion earlier this month in a letter to Zoning Enforcement Officer Wayne Skelly. Skelly asked for the opinion after a hospital official called him, saying the hospital was considering moving its Outpatient Chemical Dependency Center, which includes methadone maintenance, outpatient detoxification and other outpatient services, to an "unspecified location in Danbury." Pointing out the center has a staff of doctors, nurses, counselors and social workers to treat a disease--chemical addiction to alcohol and other drugs--Casagrande said the hospital's chemical dependency program is a medical facility. Therefore, he said, it could could move to any city neighborhood where zoning allows medical offices. [continues 293 words]
