The City of Bloomington called for a moratorium, or a temporary ban, on businesses offering treatment and services to those recovering from drug and substance abuse in a Friday press release.
The measure is meant to allow Bloomington time to assess the effects and changes foisted upon the city by the increase in number of drug treatment centers.
The decision, though temporary, has sparked debate from groups like the Indiana Recovery Alliance, which was blunt in a press release that said the ban would "lead to an increase in the spread of infectious disease, increased incarceration and fatal overdose."
"We are in the midst of an opioid syndemic, and misguided policies such as this ordinance will ultimately deny vital services to those who are most at risk," according to the statement. "We absolutely must not allow the city to erect barriers that block access to life-saving (medication assisted therapy) treatment options."
Over the past year, various treatment centers and groups have moved into the area. Indiana Center for Recovery, an abstinence-based program, opened last summer and three other medically-assisted centers have Bloomington locations as well. A methadone clinic is also scheduled to open at the end of the month on the city's west side, near Walmart.
Mary Catherine Carmichael, Bloomington's Director of Community Engagement said in the release that the City is still grappling with the influx of businesses and how unregulated growth is affecting Bloomington.
"We weren't really prepared, and we are looking at other places, other cities, and what they have done, hoping to avoid some of the troubles they encountered," Carmichael said.
The request for a temporary ban on new businesses, Ordinance 18-14, must first be presented to the Bloomington Plan Commission, then the City Council and finally to Mayor John Hamilton for signing.
The ordinance request is supposed to be presented to the commission by June 13, with it going before City Council on June 13 for review and June 20 for a vote.
If passed and signed into law, the ordinance would prevent rehabilitation and treatment centers from setting up in Bloomington for up to one year. Current legal businesses will not be affected. Centers that are currently in operation, but not in compliance with current law, will have 90 days to comply with the law.
The Indiana Recovery Alliance announced it would resist 'misguided policies' like ordinance 18-14.
"We must act now and tell the City of Bloomington loudly, 'Do not impose a moratorium on new MAT services in Bloomington!'” the IRA press release stated. "Our silence on this matter literally equals death."
