The bill prevents such clinics from opening within 500 feet of a school, and Chaminade Julienne High School, at 505 S. Ludlow, would be within that zone.
The man behind Crosspoints, Dr. Roberto Soria, medical director of Crossroads Center in Cincinnati, said he plans to appeal the law and hopes to treat addicts with suboxone, a drug with fewer regulations.
Soria said it’s sad the community claims to want to help drug addicts and then “targets” his clinic.
“It’s like burning down the house to kill the rats,” Soria said. “We’re not going to go anywhere.”
Bryan Bucklew, a Chaminade Julienne graduate and president/CEO of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, worked with state Sen. Peggy Lehner to get the legislation passed.
“It’s common sense, but it took the issue here in Dayton to really kind of elevate the conversation,” Bucklew said.
According to a Dec. 28 letter to parents from Chaminade Julienne President Daniel J. Meixner, the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services could still approve the application for Crosspoints if Chaminade Julienne agreed to the location in writing.
“We have not been approached to consider giving such consent, but I cannot imagine that we would do so if asked,” Meixner’s letter states.
The CURE Project, 1800 N. James H. McGee Blvd., is the only other state-licensed methadone clinic in the area. The Veterans Administration operates a federally regulated methadone program on its VA Hospital campus on West Third Street.