To the editor:

Kudos to The Advocate for shedding light on the ravages of substance abuse and giving such consideration to a difficult issue ("The Forever War," Advocate news series, Dec. 23 to Jan. 6). Few people realize that this is America's No. 1 health problem -- a conclusion reached by the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation after an exhaustive study of the subject. "Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease," it states.

The human struggle portrayed by The Advocate might lead one to conclude that this is primarily an urban male problem. Far from it. The spotlight was on LMG Programs' Liberation House -- a residential population of men only -- admittedly, the most challenging of the thousands of clients who are helped every day by our many education, prevention and treatment programs.

[continues 729 words]