DOCTOR HALTS PROCESS LINKED TO 6 DEATHS

A doctor who agreed to stop treating heroin addicts with a
controversial rapid-detoxification procedure linked by New Jersey
state investigators to the deaths of six of his patients defended the
practice Thursday, saying, "I was trying to help."

Dr. Lance Gooberman reached an agreement Wednesday with the state
Board of Medical Examiners that temporarily bars him from performing
the treatment at his clinic in Cherry Hill.

He is among only a dozen doctors in the country to perform the
treatment, touted as a swift and relatively painless cure for heroin
addicts, who are anesthetized while drugs cleanse their brains of
heroin. The treatment costs $2,900 to $3,600.

In a complaint filed earlier this month, the state said the treatment
is too risky and cited the deaths of six people who underwent the
procedure - known as Ultra Rapid Opiate Detoxification. The deaths
occurred between 1995 and June.