THE EPITOME OF MISUNDERSTANDING:

The epitome of misunderstanding of methadone treatment in, of all places, the Wall Street Journal of Nov. 9. An article cites a financial guru as comparing the "... recent central-bank stimulus with methadone: unavoidable, perhaps, but putting off a cure until later." Nothing better denotes the (decidedly negative!) popular view of this uniquely effective form of care of opiate dependence. Imagine postulating that chemotherapy puts off a cure for cancer, or L-dopa puts off a cure for Parkinson's, or... Advocates and providers of methadone treatment have a long, long way to go in their efforts to educate the general public.