Methadone clinic proposed for Murphy
By Dwight Otwell Editor

A methadone treatment clinic could be in the works for Cherokee County.

Debby Schmidt, director of Business Development for Habit Opco Inc., made a presentation Monday to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners.

Schmidt said her company is interested in developing a group of citizens from Cherokee County who are interested in having a clinic and who will help determine where the clinic will be located.

"Today, one in 10 high school seniors have used oxycontin for recreation," she said. "Our goal is to treat those who become addicted."

Schmidt said they want to provide services within a reasonable distance for patients of a Blairsville clinic which closed and also to provide services for addicts from Clay and Cherokee Counties.

Habit Opco, out of Boston, Massachusetts, operates programs serving 16 different communities throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Schmidt said the company is interested in Cherokee County because of the high instance of prescription drug addiction in the area. There is no opioid treatment in the region and Cherokee County is centrally located.

Schmidt said methadone clinics are controversial. Some fear that people will get their methadone treatment and then drive, endangering the public. She said people receiving methadone treatment at a clinic aren't high on the methadone they receive for their treatment and they are able to drive safely.

To the suggestion that addicts will move to the county because of a methadone clinic, she said only 1.6 percent of patients move to be near a clinic.

Most methadone overdoses come from a doctor giving methadone pills to a person who is not supervised in using them or from people buying methadone on the streets.

"By having a clinic we hope to prevent the spread of opioid addiction," she said.

A clinic would help keep babies healthy by preventing a pregnant woman from using methadone, Schmidt said. The mortality rate is five to 1,000 times higher for addicts than for other people, she said. A treatment clinic could also intercept addicts before they turn to heroin.

To a question from the a citizen attending the meeting, Schmidt said the clinic wouldn't cost the county anything directly. However, Medicaid pays for many prescription drug addicts who undergo treatment and the county pays for a portion of Medicaid services. Schmidt said that over time, the money spent on Medicaid is more than made up for. A study indicates that for every $1 spent, there is a $10 savings in medical expenses, she said.

Schmidt said that after two years of treatment in Habit OPCO clinics, over 93 percent of patients are opioid free.

Cherokee County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Tom Fry said that to be successful, an addict must have a life style change. He said there is a tremendous problem with prescription drug abuse in this county. The county hasn't seen any heroin abuse yet, he said.

"Prescription drugs are our problem," he said. "We have had a lot of overdoses. There is a need for treatment but nothing is free (to the taxpayers)."

He pointed to Medicaid and Medicare costs and the tremendous amount of fraud that occurs in those programs.

"Most of our overdose deaths are from methadone," he said.

Several citizens attending the meeting expressed doubt of the value of having a methadone clinic in the county.

In another matter, Roger Swanson and his wife Pat Swanson appeared before the board to try to clarify their intents about a courthouse being constructed at the site of the new detention center under construction on Pleasant Valley Road in Murphy.

Swanson said he is not pushing for a specific time limit in construction of a courthouse. Swanson appealed to the board on July 2 to honor what they said was a written agreement on the deed for the property which states that a courthouse will be constructed on the property.

Mary Miller told the board of commissioners that the land was appraised for $300,000 and the county paid twice that amount for the land. She noted that the barn on the property, 18,000 square feet, was torn down and the parts used in several different county projects.

Commissioner Dana Jones said the property was well worth the price. He said that it amounts to $28,000 to $29,000 an acre for land in the city limits of Murphy.

"The board of commissioners did purchase that property and planned on putting a justice center there," Jones said. "But we can't afford putting a justice center there or anywhere."

Jones said there are other priorities - specifically classrooms for Ranger School, a gym at Marble Elementary and other school needs.

"At the time we purchased that land, I thought it was in the best interest of the county. I don't think we are going to be building a justice center in the next three and a half years."

Swanson said the right-of-way road which he gave the county from Pleasant Valley Road can be used once construction starts or any work is done for the courthouse. County Attorney Scott Lindsay said that statement wasn't on the original deed. Lindsay said things were told to the Swansons that weren't told to him.

The correction deed was requested by the county because of an error.

A Deed of Correction states that the county agrees that the tracts of property will be used for a justice center, courthouse and office buildings. The deed states that the county intends to construct a courthouse upon the property after the county detention facility is completed.

The county paid Swanson nearly $600,000 for sitework at the jail site. Swanson Monday told the commissioners that the project is coming in way below state levels cost-wise because of the work he did at a good cost for the county.

About the Deed of Correction, Swanson said they added a few things to clarify matters and all the changes were agreed upon.

"Nothing was slid in there," he said.

Lindsay said he didn't agree to anything pertaining to the sheriff's department not being about to use the main entrance (off Pleasant Valley Road) until courthouse construction is started.