Large methadone centers correlate with overdose deaths.
While large methadone mega centers may have been sited in response to a density of drug use and/or overdosing, decades later it’s clear that rather than alleviate the issue, the two phenomena – methadone mega centers and overdose nodes – have increased in tandem.
Harlem residents have repeatedly noted that large methadone mega centers attract dealers who then prey upon the patients who may be susceptible to re-engaging (often with deadly results). These dealers are also followed by out-of-community users who travel to Harlem to buy and get high – further concentrating high overdose rates near large methadone mega centers.