Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2011 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Author: Carolyn Davis Referenced: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/science/14volkow.html PREVENTING ADDICTION The headline "A General in the Drug War" (Profiles in Science, June 14) misstates Dr. Nora D. Volkow's mission. The war on drugs targets people who possess, use or sell illicit drugs, and locks them up in prison. In contrast, Dr. Volkow and her agency, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, are devoted to uncovering knowledge on addiction as an illness and finding evidence-based methods to help people recover and return to full productivity. Some confusion is understandable, because the federal government is responsible both for criminalizing people who use drugs and for finding ways to heal people with the disease of addiction. Carolyn Davis Washington - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.