BANGOR, Maine - The Bangor City Council has rejected an expansion request from the Penobscot County Metro Treatment Center, which had sought to increase its methadone addiction treatment program from 300 to 500 patients.
With two other facilities in the city already treating close to 1,000 patients, Bangor City Councilor Joseph Baldacci said the applicants had not proven that the clinic's waiting list of nearly 175 individuals were legitimate candidates for the program.
"Now, we were told, I guess, that there's a waiting list of 170. We were told last week by the corporate officers that there were 60 people that responded. None of these people were medically screened, and I understand certain limitations, but the fact of the matter is we cannot take this application on anecdotal evidence."
The 7-2 vote to deny the expansion request was preceded by a number of residents opposing methadone treatment as an addiction recovery therapy and others who said the program was worthwhile and had saved their lives.
