Judge finds Bangor’s methadone clinic ordinance discriminatory
U.S. District Judge John Woodcock found Bangor’s ordinance regulating methadone clinics discriminatory but stopped short of issuing a preliminary injunction that would have allowed the Hogan Road facility to expand immediately. The clinic’s attorney, John Doyle of Preti Flaherty, urged the council to act promptly to allow the clinic to expand in light of Woodcock’s ruling.
An Excerpt
“It is now critical that the city council move quickly to allow Penobscot [County] Metro to expand to allow addicts to rebuild their lives,” Doyle said in an email. “With opioid addiction at epidemic levels, patients must have treatment options readily available to them. Because Penobscot [County] Metro is at capacity and has a significant wait list, the decision not to issue a preliminary injunction at this stage means that the clinic will be forced to continue to turn away people in urgent need of critical care and ready to enter treatment.”