More than 100 people gathered in the Fairview Legion Tuesday afternoon to voice their concerns and plead their case for a methadone clinic in the area.
Local residents, business owners and politicians packed the room, about a week after finding out Direction 180 would open a methadone clinic in a house at 3648 Dutch Village Rd.
Many residents say they are not opposed to a methadone clinic, but rather its location. They also say that hearings should have been held with the public before the site was chosen.
The province currently has no regulations in terms of public consultation with regards to medical clinics.
Physician David Saunders, who works with Direction 180, pulled out a handful of needles that he said he picked off the ground on his walk to the legion for the town hall meeting.
Saunders stressed the need for a clinic in the area, noting that 30 per cent of Direction 180’s wait list are from Fairview and that seven addicts currently live next door to the clinic.
“This disease is part of this community,” he told the crowd.
Direction 180 currently operates a treatment facility on Gottingen Street in Halifax. — Metro Halifax
