Day-attendance Centres

out the addict's admission to hospital for a lengthy period of observation. Yet addicts cannot be compelled to enter hospital, nor to stay there. Addicts often discharge themselves prematurely from hospital, even if the doctor feels that with longer stay there may be a good chance of a recovery. Any wish on the patient's part to rid himself of his addiction may not prove strong enough to withstand the knowledge that he can easily obtain the drug as soon as he leaves the hospital. One also meets the addict who leaves hospital after his dose has gradually been much reduced, only to demand the original amount again outside hospital, leaving him in possession of much more than he requires for himself. In 1961 the Interdepartmental Committee on Drug Addiction made certain strong recommendations.' One wonders whether, in the light of experiences in the meantime, it might not be advisable to put teeth into these recommendations and not just leave them at mere suggestion-quite apart from the need for research into prevention and treatment of addiction.-I am, etc., St. Bernard's Hospital, M. M. GLATT. Southall, Middlesex.