Week in Review : Drug Clinic Agrees to Move

The owners of a private methadone clinic for heroin addicts agreed to seek a new location after neighbors petitioned the City Council last week to get the Third Street Clinic out of their Santa Ana neighborhood.

Organizers of the petition drive, which collected 154 signatures, said the clinic was destroying their neighborhood with noise, drug sales, littering and lack of parking.

“We’re not against what they’re doing,” said Marcos Silva. “We think they’re doing a good job. . . . We’re glad these people are seeking help to get off their dependence on heroin. But there can be no compromise on this--the place just has to be relocated.”

Co-owner Joyce Ray planned to meet with city officials to try to find a better location for the clinic, which has operated in Santa Ana since 1981. Such a new site probably would be in a commercial or light industrial area, rather than residential, she said.

Addicts sometimes begin lining up outside the Third Street Clinic as early as 4 a.m., waiting to get the dose of methadone that will help them get through the day without heroin. The clinic--one of four in Orange County--serves about 450 addicts.