john de miranda, president and ceo, stepping stone, san diego, california.liam lossiah-bratt, board of directors, southeastern regional representative, faces and voices of recovery, cherokee, north carolina. dr. clark, why should we be concerned about ethnic and racial differences within the addiction and recovery field, as well as other differences? well, one of the things that we want to make sure is that people who have substance use problems are able to recover and that materials that we use can assist them in that process. and so, you know, there are differences associated with cultural values and beliefs, starting from how one physiologically responds to a particular substance misuse to how certain substances are used in a cultural context. so if we're going to facilitate recovery, we need to understand the language, the beliefs, the social context associated with those substances. and that will help us facilitate that person's recovery by showing that we understand the life experiences that they have associated with their use of substances. and i gath