[Al Schoonmaker]

Hi Vince,

So nice to see you here. You've been away too long. You should come here more often.

We disagree on this issue, but we've disagreed before without it ever harming our friendship.

Education is NOT the cure for addictions. For example, nobody knows more about the effects of drugs than physicians, but they have a higher rate of drug addiction than the general population. They usually become addicted to prescription drugs, not street ones.

They know better, but the combination of several factors causes them to become addicted.
1. They live high stress lives.
2. They can get drugs very easily.
3. They arrogantly believe that they can control their usage, even though they know colleagues who have become addicted.

The process of addiction goes something like this.
1. They take pills to lift them up when they are exhausted.
2. They take pills to help them to relax and sleep when they are stressed out.
3. They become addicted to uppers, downers, or both.

They all learn in medical school that thousands of physicians have become addicts, but they arrogantly believe it can't happen to ME.

Don't take my word for it. Just do a google search for "drug addiction" and "physicians."

Hope to see you here again soon so we can argue about something else.

Your Buddy,

Al