Addiction

Dr. Stanley Korenman’s commentary (Op-Ed Page, Sept. 7) on drug addiction naively asserts that animal experiments hold the key to this difficult problem. The idea is that if we learn the biochemical basis for addiction and then develop medicines that block the craving for recreational drugs, addicts will forget the high they get from drugs. As a doctor who treats scores of addicts, I find that scenario all too simplistic. All the animal experiments Korenman’s colleagues can devise will not change the fundamental social problem of drug abuse and addiction. Addicts whose cravings are attenuated by medications can easily stop taking them to once again experience the high and the anxiety-reducing effects of illegal drugs.

It is no surprise that the medications used to treat alcoholism pale in comparison to the power of Alcoholics Anonymous. These are social problems which are not solved by simplistic chemical answers. Rather than spending millions on futile animal experiments, we should invest in making the treatments we have more widely available, the greatest of which are detoxification and social supports.

NEAL D. BARNARD, M.D.

President

Physicians Committee

for Responsible Medicine

Washington, D.C.