Drug Dealers Target Clients of D.C. Methadone Clinic August 13, 2002
News Summary
An open-air drug market thrives around a D.C. methadone clinic, as drug dealers try to tempt clients into purchasing the wide variety of drugs, the Washington Post reported Aug. 11.The McDonald's restaurant parking lot in the Northeast Washington neighborhood of the District of Columbia is defined by police as being one of the largest open-air drug markets in the region. The parking lot is next to the D.C. government's largest methadone clinic, and is within three blocks of two other treatment centers.
"More than half my customers are in and out of those clinics. This is a way for me to survive," said one dealer, who declined to give his real name.
Dealers sell a range of narcotics, from heroin and crack to painkillers and sedatives.
Clients of the methadone clinics, as well as D.C. health officials, said the open-air drug market presents a daily challenge for those trying to overcome the physical and psychological complexities of addiction.
"I get a complaint at least once a day from patients who say they have to walk through that maze of drug dealers," said Tyrone V. Patterson, manager of the Model Treatment Program, which is adjacent to the McDonald's parking lot.
Although police have made more than 200 arrests at the drug market in the past two years, the drug dealers continue to conduct business there. Recently, police said activity in the area has grown, a result of an increase in heroin use in the District.
Cmdr. Alan J. Dreher of the 1st Police District said the department is implementing a two-pronged approach to curb drug dealing near methadone clinics. Without providing specific details, Dreher said that police officers would be more visible in such areas.
"Arresting your way out of the problem is one thing, but you need some decent outreach from social services, and we are looking at getting that going," he said.
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David Rosenbloom, Director of Join Together, responds to this news account in Methadone Maintenance: The Medicine is Not the Problem.
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