USE WHAT WORKS

I appreciate David F. Musto's thoughtful review of my book "The Fix"
(Oct. 18), but I fear that he leaves the impression that in calling
for more drug treatment, l favor methadone over other forms of
treatment -- a limitation, he writes, because methadone does not work
for cocaine or crack users.

In fact, I argue that methadone is but one of many effective treatment
modes, along with residential programs, "drug-free" outpatient clinics
and 12-step programs. More generally, my book advocates the principle
of "different strokes for different folks," which recognizes that
addicts require a broad range of services, of which methadone is but
one. Anyone who argues that methadone(or any other form of drug
treatment)is the "one true way" is serving the cause of ideology,
not of addicts.

MICHAEL MASSING
New York