WHICH KIND OF HORSE PROBLEM DO YOU PREFER?

DEAR CINTRA:

Pollyanna here (re: "Pollyannaism Kills," the heroin vs. horseback-riding
column of a couple weeks ago). I am used to annoying people, but the thought
of being a killer brings my anxiety level to an uncomfortable high. Sorry if
it is really true that my information on heroin immediately screwing up the
endorphins is incorrect. I also always believed that LSD causes genetic
abnormalities. Is that a lie, too?

I am reactionary about drugs, but I do think that riding horses is a
practical heroin substitute. It's cheaper and maybe more dangerous. A
half-hour lesson is 25 bucks, once a week. You may fall off, get thrown, get
bitten, be humiliated, feel wretchedly stupid, and every muscle and bone in
your body could hurt, and you could even walk funny, never walk again, or
get killed. Once you start, you want to find ways to make money to go more
often and eventually afford your own horse, which could cost about a
thousand dollars a month to keep. OK, I have a horse problem and can't face
reality, responsibility, or this whole damn drug epidemic.

In his youth, my grandfather used to feel hopeless, get drunk, get on Snort
(his horse) and ride down Hollywood Boulevard. Today a young person might
try heroin - like the curious girl who wrote to you. Why is that? Life
hasn't been fun enough for a lot of people all through time. Why the drug
epidemic now? I hate to think that "we as a society are too ignorant,
prejudiced, and irresponsible to figure out how to help," but since we are
in a mess, it must be true. - Middle-aged Pollyanna

Dearest M.A.P.: Thank you for your charmingly self-reflective letter, but I
still think that horseback-riding isn't going to work for youth stuck in New
York's Lower East Side, who would need to travel great distances just to
access a front lawn, let alone a stable.

Here is another eyebrow- and consciousness-raising letter from the
impressively credentialed Maia Szalavitz, who worked on the Bill Moyers
addiction series for PBS.

Dearest Cintra: Thanks for printing my earlier letter, and I suspect I will
not get a second shot. However, I think there are important objections to
the point you raise about heroin "blocking emotional and spiritual growth,"
which I feel compelled to address.

Certainly, it is the case that someone who is off her head all the time,
spending her life looking for an angry fix and avoiding withdrawal, will not
have much time for anything else - work, relationships, etc., all suffer.

However, this is more a function of how the drug is used and how it is
regulated than it is of the drug itself. People on methadone or heroin
maintenance are not emotionally, spiritually, physically or intellectually
impaired.

The situation is comparable to that of Prozac. We've all heard of people who
get "numb" on Prozac, and who seem to have lost touch with their feelings.
But we've also seen it do wonders for the oversensitive. The effects of
drugs on spirituality depend on your baseline - too much pain is just as
paralyzing as too little. Those on any type of "maintenance," be it
methadone or Zoloft, are simply utilizing a substance to fix an imbalance.

We've got to stop moralizing and demonizing substances and people, and
discover how to deal with individuals' needs. - Sincerely, Maia Szalavitz

Dearest Ms. Maia: While I emphatically agree with you about stopping the
moralizing and demonizing, and most of your other points, I have yet to see
anybody with a heroin habit who couldn't function better without one.

I think heroin is a retarding factor for anyone seriously involved with it
every day. This is a subjective opinion based on spooky ideas about karma
with no scientific basis whatsoever, other than observing my friends
floundering in the spin cycle for years, and either dying or struggling
through rotten times to get their lives back. You're a self-proclaimed
"ex-junkie," Ms. Szalavitz - why'd you quit, if it's such a viable
balance-corrector?

Please send your comments on the Horse vs. Horses debate to : CINTRA WILSON
FEELS YOUR PAIN, San Francisco Examiner, P.O. Box 7260, San Francisco, CA
94120, or e-mail the Psychic Supergenius at zintra@aol.com

©1998 San Francisco Examiner