Editor - Could anyone have believed that Thalidomide, a drug whose
very name became synonymous with birth defects three decades ago,
would win approval from the Food and Drug Administration as a
treatment for leprosy (Chronicle, July 17)? This would seem to be a
startling confirmation - if confirmation were needed - of Dr. Andrew
Weil's dictum: ``Any drug can be used successfully, no matter how bad
its reputation, and any drug can be abused, no matter how accepted it
is. There are no good or bad drugs; there are only good and bad
relationships with drugs.''(``Chocolate to Morphine,'' 1993.)

PAT DOLAN
Vancouver, B.C.