September 8, 2023
Dear Hossein,
Rita and I escaped the worst of the latest hurricane that threatened Florida. There was some flooding in our area from the rain and storm surge at the beaches but we did not suffer any significant damage to our apartment building. Work is still underway here in repairs from the damage we experienced from Hurricane Ian last year. The storms are becoming more frequent and more severe due to climate change. Is climate change having an effect on your apple and grape production? I continue to be amazed at your bountiful production each year. I am delighted that your collaborations with Bristol and South Hampton Universities are expanding beyond addiction to explore use of the DST method with conditions such as cancer and epilepsy. This basic research could lead to breakthroughs in new treatment approaches for these most serious conditions. I have recently been reading about the addiction problem in Afghanistan, which we have discussed before. Is there any interest among their leaders in adapting the methods of Congress 60 in that country? From what I have read they are relying primarily on police sweeps and coerced custodial treatment, but I have not read of their use of more effective methods. I regret that I will not be able to participate in the Congress 60 panel at the Congress of Knowledge and Addiction in Iran. I do hope to be able to do so at another time. At present, I am still declining in-person and virtual presentations due to my continued recovery from the stroke. I am doing much better but I still have some residual symptoms that affect my memory and speech and am not able to yet meet my standards for presenting. I think I am about 80% back from the stroke and hope to get to 100% by late this year. Perhaps we can plan on my participation next year. It is hard for me to accept my diminished capacities as a result of the stroke, but this respite is providing a time for rest and replenishment that hopefully will prepare me for continued acts of service once my recovery is further along. My family has been very supportive through this process as have been so many of my friends and professional colleagues. I appreciate your understanding of these limitations and look forward to getting back to our regular collaborations. I have asked myself many times what would happen if the DST method was fully introduced into the U.S. My fear is twofold, first that it would be introduced in isolation from all of the other recovery supports that are an integral part of Congress 60’s methods, and secondly, that it would be implemented with adaptations that would render it less effective and not a true test of the X theory and DST method. It is hard to conduct clinical trials of a method that has multiple dimensions of care like that provided within Congress 60 but I continue to have hope that a day will come when such clinical trials are possible here and that any broader implementation would be conducted with great deliberation to protect its integrity. Please extend my warmest regards to your family and to all members of Congress 60.
Friends and Brothers Forever