ABSTINENCE WON'T WORK

To the Editor:

Re "The Mayor's Crusade Against Methadone" (editorial, Aug. 18): Although I
applaud your support of methadone programs, I am concerned that you are
suggesting yet another trial of abstinence-based programs. Decades of
trials have shown that only a small minority of addicts achieve abstinence.
Methadone maintenance, on the other hand, has been shown effective in a
large majority of addicts. What are needed are new and better medications,
not new trials of drug-free treatments. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's policy
may lead to more addicts out of treatment, on the street, committing crimes
and getting AIDS and hepatitis.

How is such a policy morally superior to methadone treatment?

MARK L. WILLENBRING, M.D.
Minneapolis, Aug. 18, 1998

The writer is an associate professor of psychiatry, University of Minnesota.

Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski