Marysville Methadone Clinic's Planned Move Concerns Nearby Business Owners

By Kelly Ryan

MARYSVILLE (CBS13) — Neighbors are have issues with a Marysville methadone clinic that wants to move to a different location.

The clinic says it's simply running out of space with more patients and parking issues. But some of its new neighbors fear its arrival.

Tom King runs a store on D Street in Marysville that was started 47 years ago by his father.

"We sell everything from outdoor gear to surplus to firearms," he said. "It's an economically depressed area so business in this town is always a challenge."

He says that will be more difficult with the arrival of a new neighbor, information he learned from a new customer.

"He came and said, 'Hey did you know,' because he was shocked and he knew I'd be shocked as well that there's a methadone clinic going in a few doors down," he said.

Aegis Treatment Centers is set to move one block down the street from the shop. It currently operates a few blocks away—across from the hospital—but it needs more space.

The manager of the clinic tells CBS13 it serves community members who have an addiction to opiates, such as vicodin, percocet and heroin and that 60 percent of its patients are addicted to prescription medication. Patients take methadone to block cravings, allowing patients to eventually become opium free.