A Tragic Epidemic
To the Editor.— Whenever discussion of the destructive psychosocial effects of chemical dependency emerges among medical professionals, a controversy invariably follows. Too often, discussion turns into debate, anger overcomes reason, and strong feelings are judged to be too emotional. A sad commentary about the majority of our profession is the abrogation of responsibility, leaving the major concern in the field of alcohol/drug abuse to the care of other health professionals.1-5 For those who require documentation of the belief, which I fully share, that chemical dependency can be successfully prevented and treated, I refer them to the recent "breakthrough" article by MacDonald6 as well as publications of the US Department of Health and Human Services.7,8