"Everything I've worked all these years for would go right out the window," said John, a heroin addict who lived on the streets until methadone treatment enabled him to get a full-time job. "And the crime rate's going to go crazy. When you're an addict, you do whatever you have to do to get your fix."

Tom Scott of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Division of Substance Abuse said the House's $21.8 billion budget does not provide funding for the 282 Boston Public Health Commission methadone clinics. The budget proposal also puts in jeopardy 75 percent of the 10,000 clinics that are funded by Medicaid statewide.

"The human impact would be devastating," said John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

House Ways and Means Chairman John Rogers (D-Norwood) said the methadone clinics have become a "nightmare" for neighbors.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Kim on 12 Nov 08 07:10 PM EST

I would like to know if the Methadone clinics were closed down, and if they were, what were the effects if any?

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