DR. WALLACE: I'm dating a guy who was addicted to heroin but now after professional treatment he is clean and has been clean for over six months. We have been seeing one another for about two months so I didn't know him when he was an addict. Whenever I ask him about heroin all he ever says is, "I don't want to talk about it." I was not prying into his past life, I was only trying to find out about the effects it has on a person.

Will you please enlighten me? I promise I won't mention heroin ever again to anyone. — Nameless, Atlantic City, N.J.

NAMELESS: First of all, the guy you are seeing is to be congratulated for eliminating heroin from his life. Heroin is one of the most difficult drugs for an addict to overcome. There are recorded cases on record where a heroin user became addicted after using the drug only a couple of times.

Heroin is an extremely potent drug. When used, heroin affects the central nervous system, reducing the user's ability to feel pain and causing drowsiness. The initial effect of heroin is intense pleasure, followed by a much longer period of relaxed drowsiness. These effects wear off after a few hours. The addict's body becomes dependent on the drug and he or she becomes desperate for another injection.

The risks of heroin addiction are great: physical neglect, infection, and disease from dirty needles, accidental overdose, and inability to support the habit, often resulting in crime.

There are more than a half million heroin addicts in the United States, according to recent estimates.

YOU WILL RESPECT HIM MORE AS YOUR STEPFATHER

DR. WALLACE: I'm 14 and live alone with my mom, whom I love very much. Mom has a steady boyfriend and they have been together for the past six years. I really like him. I can turn to him when I need advice or when I have problems at school. He has been a great friend and the father I never had.

Last week the three of us went out for dinner together and my mom told me that she and her boyfriend were getting married. I should have been happy, but I wasn't. Now that he is going to live in our house, I'm afraid my mom won't have as much time for me anymore. Mom and I have been alone for 14 years and I'm not so sure I want another person between us, even though he loves Mom and me very much. — Nameless, Mesa, Ariz.

NAMELESS: I understand your concern. After all, you and mom have been a twosome for 14 years. Once she's married, things will not be the same at home. From what you've told me, however, there is every chance that they will be better. This man obviously loves you as well as your mom, and will work to secure your happiness as well as hers.

It will take a little time to adjust, but I have a feeling that you all will become one happy family. Having known mom's boyfriend for six years, you are well aware of his good qualities. Chances are you will respect him even more now that he will be your stepfather.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.