MANY KINDS OF ABUSE

A new proposal to screen drug offenders to determine who may benefit
from treatment, not incarceration, is as laudable as it is overdue.
The lawmakers behind Senate Bill 21 and The Tribune editorial board
deserve praise for their support of this effort.

As a pain specialist and addictionologist, I'd like to offer a
clinical perspective. In recent years, I've seen a marked increase in
the number of patients with depression, anxiety and other mental
disorders who abuse their prescription drugs in defiance of my medical
direction. Reduced access to mental-health care could be partly to
blame. As insurance companies deny benefits, more and more people
unwisely try to medicate away their own pain. This doesn't explain all
drug abuse, but it's a huge contributor.

"Drug abuser" is not a portrait that can be painted in broad strokes.
Some abusers live a criminal lifestyle. Others are trying to medicate
their own inadequately treated physical pain. Still others are seeking
relief from the torment of mental illness. We will never rid our
communities of drug-related crime until we encourage treatment for the
disorders that are a leading cause of drug abuse.

Lynn Webster, M.D.

Salt Lake City