Pubdate: Thu, 24 Mar 2005
Source: Brookline TAB (MA)
Copyright: 2005, Tri-Town Transcript
Contact:  http://www2.townonline.com/brookline/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3502
Author: Dr. Punyamurtula S. Kishore
Note: Dr. Punyamurtula S. Kishore is the founder of the National Library of 
Addictions and a longtime Chestnut Hill resident.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

A LEADER IN DRUG-ABUSE TREATMENT IN YOUR MIDST

On a daily basis for more than 10 years, someone has come to the National 
Library of Addictions looking for help, hope and an answer to their drug or 
alcohol problem.

Since 1993, the Brookline-based National Library of Addictions has helped 
addicts find solutions to the drug or alcohol use that had affected their 
lives and their families. We have done it one patient at a time, using new 
knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies, while not relying on 
replacement therapies that only shift addictions from one form to another.

The National Library of Addictions is an intellectual gathering place for 
health-care professionals and community members who are working to overcome 
the effects of addictions. The library serves as a research facility, 
educational institute and gathering place for professionals to exchange 
ideas and develop treatment methodologies.

In short, the library is a vital resource to addicts and those who treat 
them. Not only is it a centralized resource for patients and doctors, but 
it is also a high-profile advocate of the importance and power of recovery.

Throughout the year, the library sponsors lectures around the area, 
shedding light on the issues surrounding addiction and treatment. We have a 
group of "ambassadors" - a team of young adults in recovery - who speak to 
community groups around Massachusetts about their problems and recovery. We 
administer grants for addictions research, and advocate for the needs of 
the addictions population.

The hallmark of our work is the day-to-day treatment we give to dozens of 
patients as they fight their addictions. We have developed a program that 
eliminates the need to rely on other drugs to battle addiction to another 
substance. We work to create recovering addicts who are clean, sober and 
stronger mentally than when they started using drugs or alcohol.

Many of the patients we see are addicted to opiates, such as heroin. In 
many programs, those addicts are treated with another, legal, opiate drug 
such as methadone or suboxone. Those drugs "work," because they give the 
addict the same feeling they have when they used the initial drug. Those 
options, however, do not solve the problem of dependency.

Instead, we eliminate the use of opiates in the treatment of opiate users. 
The "sobriety maintenance" program that is the cornerstone of the National 
Library of Addiction's treatment is a long-term health program that employs 
the prescription of nontoxic substances, provides patients with coping 
skills they need to remain sober and tailors treatment to specific medical 
conditions.

In 31 years of addiction medicine, I have found this treatment to be the 
best way to not only overcome the physical problems of addiction, but also 
to strengthen the mental well-being of our patients.

The best way to avoid becoming addicted to drugs is to not use them in the 
first place. Our ambassadors tell compelling stories of how they became 
addicted to drugs. They talk about how it affected their lives and hurt the 
ones they love. They travel around the state speaking to youth groups and 
civic organizations, detailing the hazards of drug use.

Because the ambassadors are usually young adults who understand the 
pressures and environment teenagers and preteens are in every day, their 
message effectively hits home. It also gives our ambassadors the resolve to 
stay off drugs. They are able to not only tell their story confidently, but 
remind themselves of why they are not using drugs any longer.

I have lived in Brookline for three decades, and am proud that the 
ground-breaking, important work of the National Library of Addictions is 
being done in my hometown.

Drug use, especially of heroin and other opiates, is as rampant as ever. It 
is vital that we stop as many people as possible from becoming drug users. 
For those that do use dangerous drugs, we must offer them the best possible 
care and treatment. In many cases, these users are our children, or our 
neighbor's children, and those futures need to be protected.

For more than 30 years, I have been dedicated to that cause, and the 
National Library of Addictions has become a national leader in drug-abuse 
treatment. We encourage the community to find out more about the library 
and its work, as we try to make our community drug-free and safe for all.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth