ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS INVOLVED IN DRUGS GET PASS

The Post's recent lead article on cocaine addiction was particularly
timely for me ("Cocaine: Another deadly wave," May 21). It capped an
amazing discovery I had made in my role as an addictions consultant
that same week. As I tried to refer a young Latino male into
treatment, I learned that there are few local centers keyed to their
language needs. Palm Beach CARP - the Comprehensive Alcoholism
Rehabilitation Programs - offers no Hispanic language programs, and
few public programs for alcoholism or addiction exist for this
ever-growing group.

I finally found a cooperative admissions director at a Palm Beach
County program and confessed that there might be a problem with
citizenship. The man said he was without identity papers and claimed
that his had been stolen. The director of the program said: "Don't
worry. We'll admit him whatever his (immigration) standing. We don't
seek clarification in these situations, and they (federal agents)
can't touch him while he's in treatment with us."

Surprised? I was dumbfounded but sent the man to enroll as an
outpatient. How can this process be justified with so many illegal
immigrants engaged in smuggling, selling and abusing drugs? Wasn't
there once something called "the war on drugs"? Surely, some effort
could be made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to evaluate the
status of addicts while they're in clinics.

BOB FLANNERY

West Palm Beach