Citizens in the Skopje suburb of Cento are preparing to protest on Saturday against the planned opening of a methadone treatment program in their clinic.

Several hundreds heroin addicts are currently treated in one center in Skopje, in Kisela Voda, but local citizens have been protesting for years against the accompanying crime wave and the frequent sight of discarded needles and even people injecting drugs in the open. After local citizens threatened to block access to the Kisela Voda clinic, the Healthcare Ministry announced it will disperse the program in four additional locations across Skopje.

This already sparked protests in Aerodrom, where one of the clinics will begin distributing methadone.