Salem residents come out, opposing a methadone clinic

Another pefect example of NIMBY at it's best! This was taken from the BOSTON.COM site and the original link is http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/salem/2010/09/salem_residents_come_out_oppos.html


Salem residents come out, opposing a methadone clinic


By Sean Teehan, Town Correspondent

Scores of Salem residents filled a third floor hearing room on Washington Street for a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing last night, voicing their opposition to the prospective opening of a for-profit methadone clinic on Highland Avenue.

The crowd, which poured out into the hallway, protested the clinic mainly because of its proximity to Salem High school, which sits about a half-mile away from the building, and the possible deterioration of the neighborhood's character.

"No one says 'Hey, I want to invite a bunch of drug addicts over to my house,'" said one man at the hearing, who identified himself as a former Drug Enforcement Agency employee.

Other concerns expressed included the possible danger posed by opiate addicts who have gone without their drugs.

One woman, who said she worked at a nearby New England Veterinary Clinic, worried that addicts who are refused methadone for lack of identification required by the clinic, may go toward the veterinary clinic which, she said, has drugs and hypodermic needles.

"That's a police matter," responded Robert Potter, vice president of planning and development for the prospective clinic.

Potter also stressed that customers coming to the clinic are not active opiate users, but people "trying to turn their lives around."

Addressing the clinic's proximity to the high school, Potter said the clinic's hours of operation (5 a.m. to 10 a.m.), which coincide with the hours children walk and take the bus to school, doesn't put children at risk.

"These people aren't predators," Potter argued.

The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, was often disrupted by crowd chatters of anger or approval, causing Zoning Board Chair Robin Stein to ask them to quiet down.

The Board granted the clinic time to address problems raised about neighborhood character and proving a community need for the clinic.

The Board continued the matter until the November 17 Zoning Board meeting