I found the article on the "miracle" drug Naltrexone ("Constant
craving", Herald, May 15) most interesting. What it said was that this
splendid drug CAN cure heroin addiction, but it, in the end, will fail
to do so.

This, in my opinion, is the NEAREST thing I have heard that points to
the real answer to the drug problem.

The media is full of discussions on "what can be done for the
addicts", but I have never heard anyone who clearly raised the real
issue.

And the real issue, as yout article hinted, was that the addict, once
cured, often returns to drug use. Why? As the article hinted, it was
that the addict becomes an addict because he sees nothing more
satisfying in life than the kicks the drug brings.

But before we blame him for that, it needs to be stated that that is
the philosophy of life which much of the media as a whole is
presenting as the vital ingredient of real life. It continually
implies the most important factor in life is to get what you want, and
pleasure, however shallow, is the real essence of life.

Rarely is there any suggestion of responsibility to community, to
family, to wife or children; rarely any reference to the restraints
that are vital for the fulfilling of these obligations; rarely any
acknowledgment of the real satisfaction, the real joy, of giving one's
life to serve those who need our love, those in need, in pain; in
helping those who are the victims of circumstances and the greed of
others.

While sections of the arts world go on pushing the shallow philosophy
that the main thing in life is to get what you want, to satisfy
yourself above all else, and others promote the philosophy that this
means giving oneself over to sensuality, there will be no answer to
the problem of drugs.

Fortunately many of the common people are turning away from these
shallow philosophies and seeking real meaning in life.

W. C. Watterson,
Wyoming