Plans Scrapped For Methadone Clinic In Salem Neighborhood

SALEM, Mass. (AP) -- Plans to open a methadone clinic in a Salem neighborhood to treat drug addicts have been abandoned.

Community Substance Abuse Centers said it will drop its legal challenge to the Zoning Board of Appeals' denial of a special permit. That blocked the clinic from opening in a former car dealership on Highland Avenue.

The company said in a statement that the costs of a legal battle contributed to the decision. It said it may try to open a clinic elsewhere in the city.

City officials tell The Salem News that the clinic would have caused traffic problems and was too close to several schools.

The company has clinics in eight other Massachusetts communities.

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