Last February, the state General Assembly passed emergency legislation to place a moratorium on all new methadone clinics, in response to concerns about growing prescription drug abuse problems in the southwest region of the state.

The new regulations, if signed by Virginia Governor Mark Warner, would require potential clinics to demonstrate a need for methadone treatment in their proposed primary service area. Applicants could demonstrate this need by providing letters of support from local officials, or such information as overdose statistics, arrest data, and the number of people on waiting lists at existing treatment facilities.

The new regulations will not affect existing facilities, such as the Roanoke Treatment Center that, despite heated opposition from local residents, opened last January and has caused no reported problems so far.