Re "Actor's drug relapse no surprise to experts," Nov. 29: Robert
Downey Jr.'s relapse may be no surprise to the "experts" of drug
rehab, but he didn't relapse because of genetics. He went back to
drugs only because he was treated with failed and unworkable
psychiatric rehab technology.

Yet, rather than fix the programs, the people in charge of them
justify their failures by labeling the condition as a genetic brain
disease, and by claiming that addicts can never be cured. What other
industry could explain away its failures by blaming the customer?

Greg Patton,
Carmichael