A MEDICAL PROBLEM

The Post's articles on the war on drugs highlight the folly of trying
to treat what is basically a medical problem with the criminal justice
system. It overloads our prisons and court systems, utilizing funds
that could be better used for education and treatment.

Our situation is complicated by the fact that we live in a society
that itself is addicted to drugs. Every day, through the media, we are
bombarded with advertising that suggests there is a pill for every
problem.

I would suggest a three-prong approach to deal with this
issue:

The first would be a broad-scale educational program making people
aware of the dangers of addiction. PBS has produced a five-part video
series entitled "The Secret Life of the Brain." It traces developments
in the brain from the time of conception to old age. The one dealing
with the teenage brain is especially helpful in understanding
addictive behavior and the vulnerability of teens.

This set of videos should be made available in every public and school
library. Everyone involved in parenting, education, human services,
law enforcement or attending middle or high school should view
appropriate parts of it. It would help provide an appreciation of the
complexity of that with which we are dealing.

The second part of the solution would be to develop strategies to
steer those addicted into treatment.

The establishment of drug courts is one such strategy.

The third is to work in our society for laws that limit all drug
advertising to professional journals. This would increase the power of
doctors and decrease that of drug manufacturers to guide drug use in
our society.

George J. Kyncl,

Fort Morgan