DR. WALLACE: Please settle an argument between my older sister and me. She says you should only go out with guys who "turn you on" and shouldn't waste your time dating guys who are just friends. I totally disagree with her advice.

I have gone steady, but I'm not going steady with a guy at the moment. However I am going out with this guy that I have been good friends with for over two years. He is very intelligent and a really nice guy. He has helped me with my geometry many times, and I have helped him when he was having problems with a girl he was dating.

I have told my sister that until I find my "knight in shining armor" I plan to continue seeing him about two or three times a month. We enjoy each other's company and we see the latest movies, go bowling, go to concerts, and even go to Disneyland once in a while. We enjoy each other's company and sometimes we just go to the library together and get a snack afterwards.

We always enjoy our time together and I look forward to going places with him, but there is no romance involved. We have never kissed (except on the cheek) and in fact, we don't even hold hands.

Please give me your honest opinion. Do you think that I'm making a mistake by going out with a good friend instead of a turn-on? — Nameless, Tustin, Calif.

NAMELESS: Dating doesn't have to be a relentless search for your "one and only." The only point is to have a fun time. Sounds like you and the guy you are dating have a lot of fun together, so by all means, keep seeing him.

Of course, when your knight in shining armor does come riding by, your dates with him will rapidly diminish. (Unless, of course, he turns out to be that knight, but you just couldn't see the shining armor.)

THE OPEN DRUG CULTURE OF EUROPE

DR. WALLACE: This letter is in response to a guy whose brother returned from the Netherlands and commented on the drug problem in Europe. Having spent a large amount of time in Europe, I have been able to learn some things about the drug situation there.

First, the primary difference between the United States and Europe is not that drugs are more accepted there, but rather, simply, that their use is more out in the open. There aren't enough resources to arrest, jail and rehabilitate all the users in Europe, so authorities concentrate on going after the pushers and importers.

All the governments are concerned with the spread of infectious diseases that can be transmitted through the sharing of needles, so there are extensive programs to distribute needles. And keeping track of how many needles are distributed daily gives authorities a better idea of the number of people who are using drugs.

And should any of these become seriously ill, most European countries have socialized medicine that provides free medical care.

It is not that one place has a worse drug problem than another. It is simply that European countries are taking a different approach than the United States in looking for a solution. — Karl, Boston, Mass.

KARL: What you say is very true. But it is still difficult for Americans to accept the idea of addicts in many European cities injecting drugs into their veins in full view of the public, and, in many cases, law enforcement personnel.

One good thing about the open European drug culture is that it allows everyone to plainly view for themselves the powerful destruction caused by drugs.

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. E-mail him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. 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.