it would provide every
addict ho registered with
complete information about
addiction and at could be
done for it
. Seco d, it Would place 1m
photograph and fmgerprints
on file. The primary purpose
would be to prevent duplicate
registration in another clinic.
But it would also be easier to
catch up with addicts who ih
spite of the removal of the
needs for big money get into
trouble.
d, while criminal a
diets could be caught more
easily, this program would it­
self make crime quite un­
necessary for most addicts as
indicated above. In addition it
would make addicts very wary
of criminal activities because
no only would they most cer­
tainly get caught but once
caught they would be subject
to the ordeal addicts most fear
- immediate, total withdrawl
of their drug supply. It might
even, in some cases, lead to
speedy reform of minor
aiminal tendencies.
FOUJ1h, many experts
Iy answered. believe that the program
The dosage established would virtually wipe out the il-
would always be dispensed at legal drug traffic by removing
the clinic. Neither presaip- the profit from it (Only ad-
tioas norea supply - not even diets afraid to register would
enough for one day would be have to pay igh illegal
putin the hands of the addict prices.) If no stigma and no
to carry a aYe Whether the publicity (the news media
price of each dose, regard1e would have to give' their full
of the size, would be nominal .co-operation) were: attached
Thi actual to registry few would avoid it
r _.....r!Ioo .. d th u un-
--·:'--""'�treated or I·. e-r 'n I addicts
Each registered addict would become far easier.
would be given a boo et on Fifth, the program would
the first visit explaining the give youths the tru facts of
medical facts of his/her af- addiction and make them
flication. (he) would watch more amenable to cures,
educational films and listen to which re much easier for
1 t S(h ) ld h young peop than for old and
ec ures. e wou av much easi r for new addicts
what psychiatric help could be
made available. His/her pe�_ than for tho of long stand-
sonal, home, employment if ing. Thus it would reduce both
any, nd other problems the number of addicts and the
would be discussed with social degree of their addiction.
workers and job specialists. . ixtb and this' rno t im-
Efforts uld made to find portant - it would tend to
him/her a job. S( e) wou d be save teenager from addic ..
referred to religio counsel tion, At present teenagers ge
of his \her choice. Whether their fIC t do e free. Once
contrite or not, s(he) would be "hooked" ey must pay and
treated as a person with through the n e. However,
seri us problems, as a medical from the peddlers point of
and social case, not as a view, what w uld be the use of
criminal, giving away expen ivc drugs to
o registrant would ever get' another customer, if the
formally be told s(he) w in- minute addiction was 'estab-
curable, even though the doc- lished s(he) was I t to the
tors thought so. Hospitals federal clinics? And the ped-
treating drug u er would dlers who sold drugs only get
remain open and would be his own supply, as many do,
more effective because the would immediately remove ,
clinics would provide follow- himself/herself from the
up treatment, � and . d market. It would no longer be
not now available to the dis-' necessary to make Ie by in-
charged addict Patients of fecting young people who
both hospital and clinics knew no better. S (be) could
would· fact be required to get bislher own supply at the
report to the clinic for check- clinic, and help advise with it
. (; . ft t it uld provide
ups at mterv or sometime medical information which we
after ei cure had been c-
romp' bed, if indeed it had no dJy lack.
been accomplished. Certainly, the propo ed
federal clinics ould n solve
all the drug problems. Hospi­
tals oul still be needed, and .
narcotics police to prosecute
the illegal traffic and interna-
Abuses sudl overd and
, 'resale of upplies were very
commo )
The prob m must no be
handled in a different way in
order to meet today's mudl
more diffiaJlt OOI1ditioos.
The federal government,
probably through the U.S.
Public Health Service, should
. be ble to opeb clinics .
places where the prob m .
acute and to permit desig­
nated physicians to t e over
similar functions in smaller
places. The purpo of these
clinics ould be to cure or al­
liviate addiction, to wipe out
the illegal narcotics traffic and
to eliminate crime by addicts
in need of drugs.
Any person regard of
age, should be able to come
into one of these federal
clinics and register as an ad­
dict filling out a form. (he)
would required to state that
it as his/her desire to be
cured of addiction and would
pledge co-operation with the
ph icians. aturally, because
of th nature of his \her af­
flication, this pledge would in
no way relax the extreme care
nd clo e supervision which is
al ays necessary. In other
words, the physicians it) ,
charge would not agree to
believ ev rything they were
told
Th ddict would then get
a thorough physical examina­
tion to determine whether
(he) w truly an ddict and
to what degre . Great care
ould be necessary to prevent
th deli r t p' eking up of
th h hi or reversion to it by
th for r ddiets, and thi
crupulo medical ttcntion
ould be photographed and
hislher fingerp . ts se at
FBI to the legitimacy of
hislher identification and to
prevent registry at another
clinic under another name.
Each registrant would receive
a tamperproof card with
hislher signature, address if
any, photography, and
fingerprint on it Correspond­
ing records with space for
recording each medication
given ould be kep at the
clinic office,
The addict's identificaiton
cleared, the phy icians in
charge would pro d to'
det . e -1QIIs.&��1I
drug s e) d been
and what quantity might lead
to a balanced dosage. A
balanced dosage is the smal­
test amount which will keep an
addict reasonably free from
nightmarish withdrawal
symptoms. Its establishment is
far from easy and may take
ee , even months, or care­
ful watching, recording and
analysis. But it is an important
step on the ng hard road to
recovery.
At this point three impor­
t nt things will have been ac­
complished for the addict
himselfzherself. First s(he)
will have gone onto the Ie t
harmful drug which will satisfy
. hi !her need; second, s(he)
kno ho much s(he) really
needs; third, s(he) will be
released from the tension of
worry over where the next
dose is coming from. A
gradual relaxation may be ex­
pected to foUo . which will
make a balanced dosage and a
reasonable attitude e ier to
establi h. An actual cure
would not be attempted uotil
much later, in a few cases per­
haps never. There would be no
urgency to get an addict off
drugs in a hurry, since this
would defeat the W 0 pur­
pose of the clinic by driving
him b ck to the i11ega.l market
D es would be careful-
ly measured and recorded, no
cut, . �y done in
the illegal traffic. Instruments
would be terile not con­
timinatod Advise would be
freely given, questiOllS ho est-
tional agreement and co­
operation. But ithout such
clinics all our present efIOFts
are useless; with them as an in­
tegral part of the plan th re i ·
promise of a solution.
tare
an?
Many people feel that
nothing should be done for the
addicts, that they are wo th­
I vicious, and dangerous
. and that the only real answer
is to wipe them off the face of
the earth. In 1936 the Chinese.
government of Chiang Kai�
she was calmly shooting as
many as a hundred of them at
a time for no aime other than
smoking opium - which ac­
tually kept them out of troubl
by putting them sound asleep,
Our Western culture would
recoil from sum inhumane
methods even if they were ef­
fective. In 0:U.n they were not
effective. The reason is quite
simple. You can no just kill aU
addicts because you can no
find all addicts and tlte ones
you don't find will infect
others to protect their own
. supply. You can kill people of
whom. you are blindly afraid
for no good reason but when
you have finished you will be
no better off. You simply have
a fresh crop,
Other people r ise their
hands in horror at the sum -
tion that the federal govern­
ment dispense drugs to d­
diets. Well, addicts get their
drugs anyway. Why not give it
to der controlled safe
conditions instead of driving
them into the criminal jungle?
Why shouldn't the govern­
ment dispense drugs, if by so
doing it can better the condi­
tion f the addicts, sharply
reduce crime, b t the illegal
narcotics racket and, most im-
portant of all, save its youth
from a living death?
"Addicts won't register" say
other critics. Maybe a few of
them won't. But on the first
day the ew York City clinic
opened in 1919, not Ie than
1,500 did register, and others
trooped in on the foUowing
days.
everal addicts objected to
the idea of getting dope only at
th clinic. om need a shot
every three or four hours,"
they said But uofortunately
the experience of the twenties
indicates .that this is the only
way doses can be given
without cheating by addicts.
It's more trouble nd more
costly but it is the only way to
prevent fraud and safe guard
the program. Ho ver, there
are various ways of inaeasing
the intervals between doses
when pysicians are in charge
and it is quite unlikely that this
uld be a serious problem
except in a few cases which
ought to be hospitalized
. anyw y. These clinics would
be run I for comfort and
convenience of ddicts than
for the good of the nation.
"It would OO6t too much."
Continued on P 16
to
13
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