A LEADER IN DRUG-ABUSE TREATMENT IN YOUR MIDST

On a daily basis for more than 10 years, someone has come to the National
Library of Addictions looking for help, hope and an answer to their drug or
alcohol problem.

Since 1993, the Brookline-based National Library of Addictions has helped
addicts find solutions to the drug or alcohol use that had affected their
lives and their families. We have done it one patient at a time, using new
knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies, while not relying on
replacement therapies that only shift addictions from one form to another.

The National Library of Addictions is an intellectual gathering place for
health-care professionals and community members who are working to overcome
the effects of addictions. The library serves as a research facility,
educational institute and gathering place for professionals to exchange
ideas and develop treatment methodologies.

In short, the library is a vital resource to addicts and those who treat
them. Not only is it a centralized resource for patients and doctors, but
it is also a high-profile advocate of the importance and power of recovery.

Throughout the year, the library sponsors lectures around the area,
shedding light on the issues surrounding addiction and treatment. We have a
group of "ambassadors" - a team of young adults in recovery - who speak to
community groups around Massachusetts about their problems and recovery. We
administer grants for addictions research, and advocate for the needs of
the addictions population.

The hallmark of our work is the day-to-day treatment we give to dozens of
patients as they fight their addictions. We have developed a program that
eliminates the need to rely on other drugs to battle addiction to another
substance. We work to create recovering addicts who are clean, sober and
stronger mentally than when they started using drugs or alcohol.

Many of the patients we see are addicted to opiates, such as heroin. In
many programs, those addicts are treated with another, legal, opiate drug
such as methadone or suboxone. Those drugs "work," because they give the
addict the same feeling they have when they used the initial drug. Those
options, however, do not solve the problem of dependency.

Instead, we eliminate the use of opiates in the treatment of opiate users.
The "sobriety maintenance" program that is the cornerstone of the National
Library of Addiction's treatment is a long-term health program that employs
the prescription of nontoxic substances, provides patients with coping
skills they need to remain sober and tailors treatment to specific medical
conditions.

In 31 years of addiction medicine, I have found this treatment to be the
best way to not only overcome the physical problems of addiction, but also
to strengthen the mental well-being of our patients.

The best way to avoid becoming addicted to drugs is to not use them in the
first place. Our ambassadors tell compelling stories of how they became
addicted to drugs. They talk about how it affected their lives and hurt the
ones they love. They travel around the state speaking to youth groups and
civic organizations, detailing the hazards of drug use.

Because the ambassadors are usually young adults who understand the
pressures and environment teenagers and preteens are in every day, their
message effectively hits home. It also gives our ambassadors the resolve to
stay off drugs. They are able to not only tell their story confidently, but
remind themselves of why they are not using drugs any longer.

I have lived in Brookline for three decades, and am proud that the
ground-breaking, important work of the National Library of Addictions is
being done in my hometown.

Drug use, especially of heroin and other opiates, is as rampant as ever. It
is vital that we stop as many people as possible from becoming drug users.
For those that do use dangerous drugs, we must offer them the best possible
care and treatment. In many cases, these users are our children, or our
neighbor's children, and those futures need to be protected.

For more than 30 years, I have been dedicated to that cause, and the
National Library of Addictions has become a national leader in drug-abuse
treatment. We encourage the community to find out more about the library
and its work, as we try to make our community drug-free and safe for all.