FROM ONE WHO KNOWS: ADDICTION IS FOREVER

Vancouver police Constable Al Arsenault states that addicts need the
"cure," not the poison. I'm sorry to inform him that there is no cure for
addiction. An addict is an addict for life. Anybody who comes up with a
"cure" for addition will be a very rich person, I suspect.

The only hope for an addict is to quit using and then to work very hard on
a daily maintenance program to prevent a relapse. Recent statistics
indicate that, of every 100 people entering a treatment program, only four
will still be clean and sober at the end of one year.

As somone who, at age 55, has just completed his tenth treatment program, I
feel I know a little bit about this process.

Doug Coyne

Kamloops