Neither marijuana nor alcohol are benign substances, says Dr. Leshner. There are effective drugs like methadone to deal with heroin addiction, but drugs to counter cocaine are just now entering clinical trials. Cognitive behavioral therapies have been shown to work synergistically with medications. One may initially make a choice to use drugs, but Dr. Leshner counsels us that weighing the moral liability of the addict is less relevant than pragmatically dealing with their addiction as a health problem. The National Institute on Drug Abuse offers many free brochures and papers about fighting drug addiction.
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Dr. Beny Primm is a New York doctor whose life was changed by drugs, and who, in turn, changed thousands of lives as a result. After seeing many patients returning to Harlem Hospital with serious injuries stemming from drug abuse, he decided to treat the problem at the source by counseling recovering patients to get off drugs, and founding the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation. 29 years later, he oversees ten neighborhood drug treatment centers. In the 70s, Anne Beatts was a charter member of the Saturday Night Live writing staff. Today, she makes her home in California, where she writes a weekly humor column for the Los Angeles Times.