THE WORD FROM HAZELDEN

I AM IN RECEIPT of a letter from Jerry Spicer, president and CEO of
Hazelden, the Minnesota-based drug and alcohol treatment center. Goes like
this:

``Jon Carroll's April 14 column, `The Spiritual Foundation,' contained a
number of significant inaccuracies.

``While Mr. Carroll noted that The Chronicle has erroneously reported that
Alcoholics Anonymous was urging its members to break their anonymity, he's
just as inaccurate in his assertion that a `coalition of treatment centers,
including . . . Hazelden,' are making that request. The Associated Press
story upon which his column was based may be to blame for that contention,
but whatever the case, it is not correct. We encourage recovering
alcoholics to speak out about their experiences, if they feel comfortable
doing so, but we specifically request that anyone doing so always speak as
a recovering person, not as a member of AA. The tenets of AA are a central
part of the Hazelden treatment process, and we regard them with utmost
respect.

``The column (and the AP story) also is wrong in claiming that
organizations such as Hazelden are seeking public funding for substance
abuse treatment. While Mr. Carroll did not refer specifically to the
Substance Abuse Treatment Parity being considered by Congress, this is the
proposed legislation that spurred the wire report -- and the act does not
ask for government funding for treatment. Instead, the bill seeks to
require group medical plans to cover substance abuse treatment in the same
way treatment for other diseases is covered.''

I thank Mr. Spicer for his corrections. I might quibble here and there --
if the government requires an insurance company to cover something, the
money ultimately comes from the pockets of the citizens -- and thus is
indistinguishable from government funding -- but I would disagree with only
one sentence.

SPICER WRITES: ``The tenets of AA are a central part of the Hazelden
treatment process, and we regard them with the utmost respect.''

At the beginning of almost every AA meeting, a short statement of purpose
is read. This statement is drawn in part from the Twelve Traditions of
Alcoholics Anonymous, a set of organizational principles that has guided AA
since shortly after its founding.

One sentence says that there are no dues or fees for AA membership. There
is an obvious reason for that -- help for alcoholism and drug addiction
should be available to all -- but there is also a less obvious reason.

Whenever money gets involved, complications ensue. This is just a fact of
human society. AA made an early decision to be a radical American
institution, a group indifferent to money. AA depends on the kindness of
strangers and on the voluntary donations -- typically one dollar per
meeting --of its members.

Hazelden requires substantial dues and fees for admission. That's why it
wants HMO coverage. Nothing the matter with that; many benign and useful
organizations require payment. But it is absolutely contrary to the tenets
of AA.

Perhaps Hazelden is more effective than AA; perhaps AA's insistence on this
principle cuts it off from many effective treatment models. All I know is
that, by charging money, Hazelden is separating itself from the basic
tenets of AA.

ANOTHER PHRASE SAYS that AA neither endorses nor opposes any causes. AA has
learned, through bitter experience, that when it is drawn into public
controversy, no matter how clear-cut the issues may appear to be, it makes
AA less congenial to drinking alcoholics, thus defeating its purpose.

The proposal to fund treatment centers may be wonderful. I have not studied
the legislation; I do not know. But when Hazelden becomes a lobbying
organization, when Hazelden supports a bill that will mean money in its
pockets, it departs from the tenets of AA.

Pretending otherwise undermines its credibility with precisely the people
it hopes to serve.

Some significant errors noted by Jerry Spicer and yours truly

They tell all you chillun the devil's a villain but it ain't necessarily
jrc@sfgate.com.

)1998 San Francisco Chronicle

Checked-by: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)