Political addiction

Western Journalism's Project London Reports:

When David Winninger cast his final vote as a city councillor, he knew he would lose.
Still he voted against enacting a one-year ban on new methadone clinics in London.
“I was definitely opposed to it because the people who take methadone, who are prescribed methadone, are trying to deal with their opiod dependency and that's the kind of medicine they need, in many cases, every day of the week,” said the former Ward 11 councillor.
Despite the potential benefits, councillors and communities alike are hesitant to approve a new clinic. City council finds itself in political hot water as attempts to improve methadone distribution clash with the ‘not in my backyard’ philosophy of citizens.

 Mayor Joe Fontana said “It will always come down to that 'not in my back yard' issue (…) We wanted to make sure that that we had our policy in place first, so we had to impose that development freeze.”
He thinks location is the biggest political issue the city faces when it comes to methadone treatment.
Fontana said he is in favour of  a dispersal strategy which will ensure that treatment facilities are not concentrated in one particular area.
Andrew Sancton, a politics professor and expert on municipal government at the University of Western Ontario said the city may need clinics, but if a councillor were to actively promote a methadone clinic in their own ward, "that would be pretty close to political suicide."

Doctor Martyn Judson, from Clinic 528 comments on the ban:

Dr. Martyn Judson, medical director of Clinic 528, said methadone is an effective way to treat addiction and ultimately reduces crime, gets women off the street.
"We've taken the clinic to where patients are situated and where they need us."
Judson said the community’s aversion and fears of methadone clinics are unfounded.
“It really stems from the attitude of 'not in my back yard.' Everybody (will) recognize it’s an issue and something needs to be done about it, but no one’s prepared to sacrifice any location near where they reside or work to be an area where a clinic could be situated.”
He thinks that the moratorium is just buying the city some time to set unnecessary guidelines for methadone clinics.
“Clinics are already regulated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons so we don’t need another body to tell us what we can do,” he said.

There are some informative links at the article location. They have facts, figures and information about the laws regarding methadone dispensing. A profile on the OATC (The Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre) is also available -  the OATC are largest clinic network in the province. 
See the article in its entirety:

 Political addiction | Public and private interests clash in the battle to improve methadone treatment