Jessica George
With Dr. Moore of Addictions Services in Kenora leaving the area, and the subsequent overload on the staff both in Kenora and Dryden, Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres (OATC) has looked at opening up another methadone treatment facility in the region.
Fort Frances’ high number of methadone patients (reaching 60 a few months ago) has since made the town an excellent candidate for this venture.
Local pharmacist Kim Metke, owner of Pharmasave and the Fort Frances Clinic Dispensary, recently purchased the former Home Suite Home furniture store with the intention of opening up a methadone treatment facility to fill that need.
He already is in talks with a contractor who built the facility in Dryden, and is just waiting on his availability to get the project ball rolling.
Metke estimated the project could be done in as early as six weeks but, depending on the contractor’s schedule, it may be up to three months before it gets started.
Methadone treatment is a very controversial topic for many, with opponents complaining it’s just one harmful drug replacing another—only legally.
Metke does not deny methadone is a replacement drug, but insisted there are positive aspects of the treatment that outweigh the seemingly negative ones.
“Most people think of it as a treatment centre following the idea of curing people,” he explained. “But more and more, the philosophy is centered around something called a reduction of harm.”
Metke said in a situation where a opiate addict is looking for their next fix, and someone happens to be standing in their way (physically or not), that innocent person often gets hurt in the process of them achieving their goal, citing the recent rash of break and enters, purse snatchings, and muggings that had been going on here.
He estimated that with more addicts having the opportunity to seek treatment, these negative impacts on the community also would see a decline.
Because of the nature of methadone, those in treatment are receiving their fix without the high and without the withdrawals. It’s seen as a way to wean them off of the drug without the terrible side effects that push them to use again—removing the need to engage in drug-seeking, harmful behaviours that affect the community as a whole.
Metke stressed the most important reason to open the facility here would be to take care of the community and to protect their interests in living in a safe environment.
The second reason for opening a facility here falls with the addicts themselves. In order to quit, it’s preferable the addict merges into a normal social life, family life, and work life.
New methadone patients currently are required to travel to Kenora, Dryden, Thunder Bay, or Winnipeg once a week on top of needing to see their pharmacist daily for their dose of methadone.
Metke believes having to travel so often definitely hinders their ability to live a normal life because jobs would be difficult to maintain and family would be left behind, not to mention the monetary strain from having to hit the road so often.
He added there are more addicts who may wish to seek treatment but are unable to do so because those extra commitments may not be entirely feasible for them at this point in time.
Metke noted there are other methods for helping addicts, like step-down withdrawal programs or using some other medication to aid the process, but believes methadone is the most effective of them all.
That being said, however, he did concede addicts should not look to methadone as the easiest way, as a cake-walk, or as a program that necessarily guarantees success.
“Tara Tovey: she’s a success story. To portray her as the norm would be a total misconception of the program,” Metke stressed.
“For some of them, I hate to say it, but they are going to stay addicted because they want to,” he added, noting that just like quitting smoking, it really requires an effort, a desire, and a commitment to quitting.
“Is [methadone] the greatest thing since sliced bread?” Metke asked, then promptly replied “no.”
“But it is a way to treat people and provide them with some kind of hope and opportunity to get off of their addiction,” he reasoned.
Metke realizes the effectiveness of methadone is a controversial subject, and that the idea of opening up a facility here may strike even more nerves.
However, he’s trying to counter those arguments right from the start. “For those who are concerned, it is operating up in Dryden and there was a big hoopla when it went in, but now you don’t hear a peep about it.
“In fact, I think that if you polled people on taking it out of the community, there would be a big hoopla in that ‘No, no, no, we can’t lose this’ because it really is a valuable service,” he added.
