More Windsor addicts turning to methadone clinics for help

Methadone clinics in Windsor are struggling to keep up with the number of people coping with severe drug addictions, health officials told CBC News.

• Crystal meth becomes drug of choice for Windsor addicts

• Opioid-related deaths in Windsor-Essex drop in 2014, coroner reports

The client list at the Erie St.ClairClinic recently reached an all-time high, reachingabout 1,000 people, according to clinical leadRobertaJarecsni.

The age range of addictsvaries widely, stretching from teenagers toseniors.

Rock bottom

Patients seeking methadone, which is a drug used to help people slowly wean themselvesoffstrongeropioiddrugs, are near "rock bottom" by the time they come to these types of clinics,Jarecsniexplained.

"By the time patients seek this type of treatment, they've had a lot of losses in their lives," she said.

Methadone prescriptions, though, are just part of the treatment. Patients also needcounsellingand a wide support network in order to succeed,Jarecsnisaid.

She finds there are an increasing number of people who first became addicted because of prescription medication, particularly among seniors.

"I'm really shocked at the amount of prescription addiction that I've seen in clients,"Jarecsnisaid.

'Lives are destroyed'

Other groups offering methadone have similar stories as the number of clients continue to rise. The age range of addictsvaries widely, stretching from teenagers toseniors.

"I've seen many elderly people who have been in pain for many, many years [and]I see young people who first got their drugs from a dentist," Jarecsni said. "Lives are just destroyed."

Some youth are turning to methadone because their addictions have become too expensive, explained Dr.JameetBawa, the medical director of the Horizons Opioid Treatment Centre in Toronto who also works in Windsor. He too is seeing an increase in clients.

"I've seen an increase in usage all around," he said. "I've seen more and more young people seek help."