Page 6-Tuesday, September 11, 1979-The Michigan Daily
Valium addictive, exp
WASHINGTON (AP) A Asked by Sen. Edward Kennedy, the
psychiatrist who has treated celebrities subcommittee chairman, if Valium
for alcohol and drug abuse told a Senate alone is a problem in society, Pursch
health subcommittee yesterday that replied he has seen people who have
the most widely used drug in America become addicted to the tranquilizer in
- Valium - is addictive and doctors only six weeks.
should not prescribe it for everyday "NONE OF these drugs (Valium and
stress. Librium) solve our problems," said
Dr. Joseph Pursch, who heads the Pursch. "They make people feel better
' Alcohol Rehabilitation Service at the because they make you feel dull and in-
Navy's Long Beach Regional Medical sensitive. you tey dund in-
Center in California, said alcoholism nti. But they don't solve
and the overuse of tranquilizers anything."
a drs rBut Robert Clark, president of Hof-
represent the nation's No. 1 health fmann-La Roche Inc., the manufac-
problem. turers of Valium, maintained it is a safe
"CLASSICALLY today, if a woman and effective drug when properly used.
""walks into her doctor's office and says, He said addiction is "extremely rare"
nervous, my husband drinks too at recommended dosage levels, and
w much,' the doctor will automatically added that Valium does not appear to
give her a tranquilizer," said the Navy be more addictive than any other mild
psychiatrist, whose patients have in- tranquilizer.
eluded Billy Carter, the president's The vast majority of patients on
brother; Betty Ford, the former Valium use it for only a short time and
president's wife; and Sen. Herman follow their doctor's instructions, Clark
Talmadge (D-Ga.). said, having no problem with the drug.
More than 44.6 million Valium gHE ADDED, however, that Hoffman-
,1 prescriptions were filled in 1978. And, La Roche will begin a new program to
Pursch said, many doctors don't realize make certain that information on the
t i an oth n ge t od anquil zel.m risks and benefits of Valium is included
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
ProesioalTha reProgram
1979-80 Best of Broadway Series
USHER APPLICATION
'Name
Address
Telephone
1. You must choose your series in order of preference.
2. Return Usher Application to: Usher Best of Broadway Series,
Professional Theatre Program, Michigan League Bldg., Ann
Arbor, Michigan, 48109.
3: You will be notified by mail. MUST INCLUDE A STAMPED,
SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE.
Please Number Choice 1,12, 3, etc.
SERIES A: (Fri. Eve.) Oct. 5, Oct. 26, Feb. 8, April 25
SERIES B: (Sat. Eve.) Oct. 6, Oct. 27, Feb. 9, April 26
SERIES C: (Sun. Mat.) Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Feb. 10, April 27
SERIES D: (Sun. Eve.) Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Feb. 10, April 27
NOTE CURTAIN TIMES:
All Evenings at 8:00p.m. Matinees at 2:00p.m.
(Ushers Report one hour before curtain time)
HWBA
/1
B
i
1
i
r
i
i
ert
warns Senators
in each container for the patient to
read.
Clark said the effort may hurt his
company competitively, but "we are
committed to strengthening our
programs and activities to further
enhance the appropriate utilization of
our products. . . We will continue to
act in a socially responsible manner."
Kennedy, who said Valium and
Librium have produced "a nightmare
of dependence" for many people, also
heard from Dr. Theodore Clark, a
Pinehurst, N.C., psychiatrist who
fought a personal battle against "hard
liquor and soft drugs" for several
years.
THE NORTH Carolina psychiatrist,
who is counseling at a drug and alcohol
abuse clinic, said he was a "one-man
testing station" for the free samples of
drugs that often are mailed to
physicians. He said he mostly took
Librium.
"It got to the point where I wouldn't
see a patient until the mailman showed
up," he said. "Where other doctors
read their mail, I was eating mine."
Dr. William Thomas of the Long
Beach, (Calif.), General Hospital, said
he first took Valium for anxiety. Then
he upped the dosages markedly, he
said.
After realizing he was popping too
many Valiums, Thomas said he tried to
get off "cold turkey."
"It was like somebody forced
kerosene under your skin and every on-
ce in a while they set fire to it," said
Thomas of his experience of trying to
kick the habit. "I couldn't eat, I
couldn't sleep, I felt depressed."
Thomas said he has been off Valium for
five years.
G
I subject of FTC
a
l
transmissi
WASHINGTON (AP) - General
Motors Corp. acknowledged yesterday
it is under federal investigation for
building transmissions that allegedly
wear out early and cost owners repair
bills of about $400.
General Motors (GM) disclosed the
investigation by the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) in a legal document,
arguing that it should not be required to
turn over documents demanded for the
probe.
GM'S LEGAL papers, on file at the
FTC, say the subpoenas are "un-
necessary and an unreasonable use of
compulsory process. Their issuance
constitutes an abuse of administrative
discretion and imposes an undue bur-
den on General Motors."
GM said the FTC began its probe of
n probe
the series 200 THM autmomatic tran-
smissions in March. A consumer group
requested an investigation then, but the
probe did not become public knowledge
until GM included copies of the sub-
poenas in its legal filing.
GM has denied any defect. In Detroit,
spokesman Phil Workman repeated
this position but declined to comment
on the FTC probe.
THE TRANSMISSIONS have been
used beginning with the 1976 model
year in a wide range of GM passenger
car models. About four million of them
have been made.
GM said in the legal filing that "the
fundamental purpose of this in-
vestigation is to determine whether the
Series 200 THM transmission is defec-
tive."
The subpoenas demand GM
documents on the transmissions, in-
cluding data on any problems with
them.
THE CENTER for Auto Safety, a
Washington consumer group that Ralph
Nader help found, said in March that a
major design problem is leading to
premature failure in the Series 200
transmissions.
Center Executive Director Clarence
Ditlow said "1,200 complaints that we
have received show that this is a major
problem. And the transmissions cost
about $400 a crack when they have to be
repaired."
He said the transmission was
designed for the 2,100-pound Chevrolet
Chevette. It has been used in vehicles
up to the 3,765-pound Caprice, Ditlow
said.
AP Photo
Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Collazo stands outside the U.S. Penitentiary
after serving 29 years for the attempted assassination of President Harry Tru-
man. President Carter commuted the sentence of Collazo and three other
Puerto Rican nationalists last week.
Four Puerto Rican
terrorists
CHICAGO (AP) - Four Puerto
Rican nationalists - expressing no
regret for their crimes - were freed
yesterday from federal prisons where
they had spent at least a quarter cen-
tury for terrorism in the nation's
capital. They flew to Chicago and em-
braced in an emotional reunion.
The four - Oscar Collazo, Rafael
Cancel Miranda, Irving Flores
Rodriguez and Lolita Lebron - were
granted clemency last week by,
President Carter in what he described
as a humanitarian gesture.
CANCEL, 49, Flores, 54, and Lebron,
59, all took part in a 1954 Puerto Rican
nationalist shooting attack on the U.S.
House of Representatives, in which five
members of Congress on the floor were
wounded. Collazo, 65, had been im-
prisoned since 1950 for an assassination
attempt on President Harry Truman.
The four hugged each other at O'Hare
International Airport while a handful of
supporters stood by chanting "Viva
Puerto Rico," before they headed to a.
rally at a high school on Chicago's nor-
thwest side to renew pleas for indepen-
dence for their Caribbean homeland.
4
SHOW BOA T
"DA"
EUBIEI
DEATHTRAP
..........__
October 5, 6, 7
October 26, 27, 28
February 8, 9, 10
April 25. 26. 27
.-..
.
_____________________________ U ______ j
i
CLINT EASTWOOD In
1967
I
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
This third of Sergio Leone's "spaghetti westerns" is a bloody
tale of fisticuffs stolen loot, double crossing and gimlet faced
cowboys. Immensely popular for good reason. With ELI WAL-
LACH and LEE VAN CLIFF.
Wed: IPHIGENIA
Thurs: BIRTH OF A NATION
CINEMA GUILD
TONIGHT AT
7 & 10 P.M.
OLD ARCH AUD.
$1.50
released
"The precedent is not in keeping with
a campaign of political rights, but
political expediency," said Lebron.
"President Carter plans to campaign in
Puerto Rico and this will make him look
good."
LEBRON WOULD not reveal plans
other than to say the Puerto Rican
nationalist movement would not join a
political process' "controlled by U.S.
imperialism." She said her stint in
prison had made her "a free woman
spiritually" and that she was prou of
her role in the shooting.
"I am grateful to God to be able to be
here with my companions," she said.
"Grateful to President Carter? No, not
at all. Carter can't speak of human
rights when these thousands of political
prisoners are still imprisoned."
Collazo, asked whether he would at-
tempt another attack like the one on
Truman if given another chance, said:
"That's been the $64,000 question., . I
don't have to be proud of what I did. I
am a man who had done my duty."
COLLAZO WAS released from the
federal penitentiary at Leavenworth,
Kan., Miranda from a federal facility in
Marion, Ill., and Rodriguez from a
facility in Springfield,.Mo.
Lebron, who had been sentenced to
serve 56 years, said on her release from
the federal prison at Alderson, W. Va.:
"I have a great satisfaction. We have
succeeded in our struggle for victory.
We are stronger than ever, more com-
mitted than ever."
COLLAZO HAD told waiting suppor-
ters as he stepped to freedom: "The
fight for freedom is always a long fight
and always a hard fight. I have nothing
to be disappointed about."
On Nov: 1, 1950, Collazo was 36 when
he and Griselio Torresola opened fire
on Blair House in Washington, where
Truman was staying while the White
House was being renovated. Truman
was not injured, but Collazo's com-
panion and a White House policeman
were killed.
Collazo was the son of a small lan-
downer who died when Collazo was 6.
Collazo later blamed the death on U.S.
imperialism. As a teenager, he moved
to New York and by age 18 he was a
member of Puerto Rican Nationalist
Party.
SENTENCED TO death for the 8lair
House incident, Collazo's term was
commuted to life in prison by Truman
in 1954.
Lebron was 34 and the oldest of the
four Puerto Ricans who opened fire
from the House visitor's gallery. The
divorced mother of two was living in
New York City at the time. In her purse
a note was found saying, "My blood
claims for the independence of Puerto
Rico"
In March 1977 she was allowed to
leave the West Virginia prison to attend
her daughter's funeral in her
homeland.
Cancel, then 23, emptied an eight-
shot revolver while shooting at House
members before being subdued. Born
to a regional nationalist leader, he was
expelled from school for refusing to
pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag.
AUrDITONS
for David Robes
EI rrIagin 1~A
A United Artist Exclusive
now showing at:
* he Movies at
Prudential Town Center
Corner of Evergreen and 1-696
In Southfield
The strangest things happen
when you wear polka dots
(e~~A /a wt11e'2
MARCELLO DANON presents
UGO TOGNAZZI MICHEL SERRAULT
"LA CAGE AUX FOLLES"
(English Subtitles)
® Based upon the play by JEAN POIRET A fim by EDOUARD MOLINARO
Copyright ( ) 1979 Untied Ahtists Corporation, All rights teserved. United Artis $
k #
r-
-
s is s A iI R i i i t i if i l l i - ii1
!s "i i iA l" i t!" iM r ri rrr f iwi N M w"" r rt rf l f"/" " s r i