Editorial: 'Selling' clinics just got tougher

Fatal accidents put focus on methadone sites



Opinion: The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.



Methadone clinics historically have encountered strong opposition in efforts to infiltrate our region. And their battle has become even tougher because of two fatal accidents in our region involving patients.

We think the state Department of Health and other oversight agencies – including the Federal Drug Administration and federal Drug Enforcement Administration – need to look even closer at clinic operations and do a better job of educating the public on these valuable facilities.

People are raising legitimate questions and they deserve answers.

Here’s what has happened:

n A 22-year-old Patton woman’s car went out of control July 25 on Route 36, killing two pedestrians. The driver later told police she was on her way home after being treated for heroin addiction at a Clearfield County methadone clinic.

n The owner of a Richland Township clinic is one of three parties being sued in the aftermath of a 2004 crash in which its patient was killed while driving home to Altoona after receiving methadone treatment.

The biggest question: Should the young women have been allowed behind the wheel so soon after receiving treatment?

There is certainly enough evidence, enough of a history of problems, to at least raise a red flag.

“We have had people driving back from the Clearfield County clinic through Patton and have charged them with DUI at 12:30 in the afternoon,” Patton Borough police Chief Vince Leppert said. “I had a guy driving on the wrong side of the road once ... and he was on his way back from getting his methadone.”

He says patients should not be permitted to drive after being “dosed” at a clinic.

From what we’ve read and heard, we can’t disagree.

Dan Miller, a spokesman for the health department, verified that there are no driving restrictions. He said, however, clinics are required to have medical directors (physicians) on site. In addition, patients encounter nurses, physician assistants, counselors and others who assess and observe.

Added Miller, the state’s 47 clinics are “intensely monitored. They are nationally accredited in addition to our state inspections. They face a lot of stipulations and stiff regulations. We do visits at least annually and certainly more if there are any complaints.”

In the wake of what has transpired over the past eight months at Laurel Crest, Cambria County officials can attest to the no-nonsense inspections by state health department personnel.

Methadone is a narcotic used to treat drug addicts. It blocks an addict’s craving, rather than giving a “high.”

But what about side effects? And what about when it’s taken in conjunction with other prescriptions or even over-the-counter medications?

“No known facts say methadone will impair your driving,” said Chris Canfield, a spokesman for Discovery House clinic in Clearfield County, in a WJAC-TV news interview last week.

And Luis Gonzalez, clinical pharmacologist at Memorial Medical Center, told The Tribune-Democrat, “There are a lot of over-the-counter medications that are probably more dangerous than people on chronic methadone.”

But he added that other medications can contribute to the inability to operate a vehicle or machinery for someone also taking methadone.

That’s why we wonder if even stricter rules and more observation might be in order for clinics and their patients.

Over the past half-dozen years, efforts for clinics have failed at least in the city of Johnstown; Cresson, Ebensburg and Portage boroughs; and Cambria and East Carroll townships. In most cases, residents were leery of having drug addicts or recovering addicts frequent their communities. We can understand their concerns.

We congratulate and encourage those who are seeking medical treatment for their addictions, including visiting clinics. Officials estimate a clinic success rate as high as 30 percent.

It’s unfortunate that recovering addicts, to obtain methadone treatment, have to juggle a sometimes-100-mile drive while maintaining full-time jobs. That in itself sounds like a prescription for disaster.

More clinics are needed.

But until the public is assured of better oversight of clinics and their patients, operators will continue to face a tough sell in opening more sites.