Pubdate: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2005 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Diane Rollert Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1277/a01.html CRYING WOLF ABOUT METH ABUSE? To the Editor: John Tierney's column about methamphetamines includes unhappy truths for those of us who have friends and family struggling with addiction. We are caught between the two camps: one claiming that drugs and substance abusers are evil and one claiming that drugs have benefits. Neither side gets to the heart of the matter. Take a trip to any rehabilitation center or prison, and you'll meet with many young people whose lives have been derailed by substances they thought were benign. More often than not, they are battling depression, anxiety or psychosis, which may have been present before the drug use or caused by it; medical science is still unraveling the relationship. It is a hard road to recovery, and there are too few options for adequate treatment (just ask your H.M.O.). That is the real tragedy in the war on drugs. Diane Rollert Concord, Mass., Aug. 9, 2005 - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake