MORE ON METHADONE

Monday's editorial about methadone, "Methadone: Code Blue," correctly
reports that the highly respected and objective Institute of Medicine has
determined methadone maintenance to be "the best treatment for opiate
addiction." This conclusion is based not on conjecture but on the consistent
experience throughout the world in the past 35 years.

As for the black market, this is the inevitable consequence of government
policies that severely curtail the legitimate clinical availability of
methadone. Nationwide, 80 percent to 85 percent of heroin addicts have no
access to treatment - a shameful statistic for which the entire society
bears the cost. We should be demanding prompt expansion of addiction
treatment - maintenance treatment as well as drug-free - for all who want
it, need it and, with tragic and growing frequency, die without it.

Dr. Robert Newman, Director

Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency Institute

New York