Re: "Culture of healing needed to battle painkiller addiction," by David Plazas, April 8.

In response to your article, I would like to express how strongly I agree that our culture relies entirely too much on painkillers.

Recently my stepfather had a neck surgery, and as expected, he was in a considerable amount of pain after the procedure. After being prescribed 60 Percocet pills, he took a total of five. When asked why, this was what he said: "I was more scared of being addicted to the painkillers than I was of the pain."

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