Vomiting on the street, drug deals on the stairs, needles under the table, regular break-ins... the situation in Beenleigh has become exponentially worse across the last couple of years, since the Methadone Clinic opened in the centre of Beenleigh. Beenleigh businesses in the front line can attest to ever increasing incidences of all the above and more.

This is all within the City Road retail area and only a couple of hundred metres from a number of schools- primary, high schools, even child care centres.

If you think this is wrong please sign the petition below.

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Claims from local leaders include:

Claim 1: We (Beenleigh businesses, parents, general community etc.,) are being hysterical about this. We should be grateful we have such a great facility in our town. (Taken directly from a meeting our Local MP had with invited business owners.)

Is it wrong to want to open our well established businesses and interact with our customers without the clinic’s drug affected clients loitering in front of our doors, doing drug deals on our steps, vomiting on our footpaths, laying down in front of our shop entries and more? We say that it's wrong to use Beenleigh's City Road as a drug rehabilitation centre. 

Claim 2: They are in a "discreet location near public transport"

False, they are front facing on our main street which is at the entry to the CBD.

Also, 400 metres to the train station might be relatively "near" but is that finally an admittance that a majority of the clinics clients come from outside of the area? We WANT to take care of our own and in fact there were many locations that were doing just that. 6-7 local chemists have been administering methadone treatment for years.  Spreading smaller treatment facilities throughout different areas is ideal. We just don’t want Beenleigh to be the magnet for all of the problems from the wider city and beyond.

Claim 3: There has been no increase in crime in the area. 

We are asked to report report report. When businesses and community report, drug affected people engaging in weird activity, weapons found, needles found, vomiting, drug deals; police aren't interested unless it is a serious break in or violent attack. All the evidence must be taken into account. NOT just major crime stats. In less than a year the local dentist, jewellery stores (3) and locksmith have been broken into several times. Businesses are conducting business behind locked doors- in fear. It is a veritable war zone. The time for clean up is passed. We need change!

Local businesses and community have NEVER demanded that this clinic be shut down. We know many legitimate clients are getting benefit from their services. We have simply asked for it to be moved to a more appropriate location. The same legitimate clients can be treated in more appropriate areas. Away from schools and the centre of town. All local leaders have been met with and appealed to for over a year- Council, State and Federal. Nothing has been done. We had hoped that these levels of government, who we have voted in would be on the side of better outcomes for our local community, instead of turning a blind eye at the problems our town is facing and ATTRACTING. We had hoped that the ever increasing problems being experienced in Beenleigh would have been taken seriously and steps made to move the clinic without having to appeal to the broader community, tv, internet and radio, petitions, but unfortunately it has come to this.

What are your thoughts? Should a private Methadone Clinic attracting drug affected people be near schools and retail or is there a better place for it?