ACLU of Virginia opposed passage of new Virginia law, sought veto from Governor

The ACLU of Virginia announced today that it will offer legal representation to methadone clinics prevented from opening because of a new state law. Twin bills introduced in the 2005 General Assembly by Delegate Terry Kilgore and Senator William Wampler place a moratorium on the opening of methadone clinics until the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services approves new standards for issuing operating licenses.
The ACLU says the law discriminates against recovering addicts, who are denied the services offered by the clinics.
The passage of the moratorium law continues a trend begun last year when the General Assembly approved a measure that effectively excluded new methadone clinics from many urban areas. That bill prohibited methadone service providers from locating within a half-mile of schools and day care centers. It became law in July 2004.
“We’re concerned about this seemingly irrational movement to shut down methadone clinics,” said ACLU of Virginia executive director Kent Willis. “All the research indicates that that these clinics provide an important service to addicted persons and that they reduce illegal drug trafficking and drug-related crimes in the communities where they are located.”
The bill signed by the Governor contains an emergency enactment clause placing the law on the books immediately rather than on July 1, the customary date for implementation of new laws. The new law requires DMHMRSAS to issue new regulations within 280 days of enactment. That would likely mean no new methadone clinics in Virginia until 2006.
According to the ACLU, both the 2004 and the 2005 laws violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. Using the ADA, federal courts have consistently stuck down government policies that exclude or excessively restrict methadone clinics.
A recent article in the Roanoke Times (“Methadone Clinic Appears to Have Silenced Critics for Now,” February 26, 2005) supports the claim that communities where methadone clinics are located should have little to fear. Although many who live near a newly opened clinic in the city are wary of it, no problems have surfaced in the month the clinic has been fully operational.

Contact: Kent Willis, Executive Director, ACLU of Virginia, 804-644-8022