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Detroit junkie: Giving up on heroin
IDAY, APRIL 9, 1971
NIGHT EDITOR: LYNN WEINER
Threat to highway safety
HE MICHIGAN State Senate's lack of
concern about highway safety and
nd its strong bias toward industry were
videnced in its approval recently of a
ill to allow trailers 14 feet wide to use
tate roads.
Existing law limits the width of trailers
D eight feet. Since 1963, a permit system
as allowed manufacturers and haulers
D extend the maximum width to 12 feet
1. certain classes of traffic.
The threat to highway safety is that
he proposed 14-foot width will be two
D four feet wider than the lanes on exist-
ig state trunk and interstate highways.
railers would have to occupy part of a
econd lane or the shoulder of the road.
[otorists already upset by long, slow-
ioving trucks might be forced off the
Dad to pass one of the new monsters.
Even in good weather with dry roads,
his could be dangerous. But when visibil-
y is hampered and the surface is slip-
ery, leaving the road to pass a wide
railer greatly, increases the chances of
ccident. At the speeds used on inter-
tate highways, such an accident could
asily be fatal,
Humanity
)RESIDENT NIXON boosted humanity
several notches over the course of
his week.
Wednesday he announced an increase
1 United States troop withdrawals from
ietnam, a saving in American and Indo-
hinese lives. And on Sunday it was
eported that the President opposes abor-
on on the grounds that it inter-
eres with the right of life to which hu-
ian beings are entitled.
More specifically, the President said he
>uld not reconcile abortion with "my
ersonal belief in the sanctity of human
fe - including the life of the yet un-
orn. For surely the unborn have rights
lso recognized in law, recognized even in
rincinles expounded by the United Na-
ons."
This will certainly come as news to the
umans living in Indochina, for whom
merican airpower has killed countless
nborn babies. And, as Nixon boasts that
he enemy has suffered more casualties
han the South Vietnamese during the
aos campign, certainly the President's
ewly-adapted police of pacifism is to
)y the least, interesting.
-R. P.
Editorial Staff'
ROBERT KRAFTOWITZ
Editor
IF THIS PROPOSAL becomes law, Mich-
igan may find it has brought more
problems than highway safety. Wiscon-
sin, which authorized 14-foot widths in
1969, has already reported some 18-foot
wide building modules and says they are
chewing up road shoulders at the pave-
ment edge. State highway department
officials fear requests for widths of 16
and 18 feet will quickly follow approval
of the 14 foot limit.
The cost of upgrading Michigan's 9,200-
mile primary road network to handle wid-
er vehicles might reach $2 billion, ac-
cording to highway department manag-
ing director Henrick Stafseth. It the
Senate were really serious about keeping
the cost of state government at a min-
imum, it would not have committed it-
self to such 'a large future exoense.
Supporters of the wider limit say it
is necessary to help the state's mobile
home and modular housing business. Last
year Michigan manufacturers produced
20,000 mobile homes, putting Michigan
fifth in the nation and second in the Mid-
west. Some legislators fear the industry
will leave the state without approval of
the 14-foot limit.
IJOWEVER. THE industry could con-
form to the 12 foot limit without ex-
tra construction costs. In testimony be-
fore a committee, one manufacturer ad-
mitted that each unit could be built in
three sections instead of two. The only
additional cost would be transporting
another section.
State Senator Robert Van der L a a n
(R-Grand Rapids), a spokesman for Gov-
ernor William Milliken, suggested that
any attempt to improve highway safety
should start "by making it tougher on
drunk drivers." This is an attempt to
ignore the problem. While drunk drivers
are a major cause of accidents, there is
no justification for adding a new hazard
to those that already exist. It is hard to
imagine how a drunk driver could safely
pass a trailer 14 feet wide on a road with
lanes of 12 feet.
The State Senate's willingness to give
this industry a higher priority than the
public's needs was shown by the lopsided
vote on the bill. Only eight members op-
posed it while 23 supported the 14-foot
width. Ann Arbor's Gilbert Bursley was
out of town to attend a national trans-
portation conference at Texas A&M.
POWERFUL BUSINESS interests back-
ing the bill have already moved it
through the Senate quickly with minimal
opoosition. Unless :there is a public out-
cry soon, it may pass the H o u s e and
become law in a few months. This would
be disastrous for Michigan's drivers and
taxpayers. No matter how many restric-
tions are placed on the movement of 14-
foot trailers on highways, they will always
pose a safety hazard to other vehicles
trying to use the same road. Large
amounts of state revenue, which might
be used for education or welfare, will be
diverted to repairing road shoulders if the
new trailer width is approved. These
costs alone are likely to exceed any tax
revenue gained from the mobile home in-
dustry. If the 14-foot limit is necessary
to keep this industry in Michigan, then
the state should let it move elsewhere.
-PAT MAHONEY
Assistant Editorial Page Editor
By RIC BOHY
RONALD IS A junkie. He is also
a marked man. Late last sum-
mer he robbed a dope house to
get money for methadone. He also
made a deal to work as an inform-
ant for Detroit's Metro Squad -
a police narcotics organization. He
is now in Detroit General Hospi-
tal suffering from gunshot wounds
to the head and leg. But he is
still alive.
Ronald's story is an old one, a
story that could be applied to al-
most any junkie on the Detroit
streets t od ay. He needed fast
money, a chance to regain the
manhood that w a s stolen from
him and an escape from the real-
ities of living in an urban ghetto.
When Ronald - who is now 26
years old - was in the Army. he
ran a loan shark business. Inter-
est was one dollar on each dollar'
loaned. Despite the high rates. he
did a lot of business and had a
good deal of money. One day an-
other enlisted man sold him a
large quantity of marijuana for
an exorbitant sum, and the mari-
juana turned out to be mostly al-
falfa.
SO WHEN Ronald left the Ar-
my, he took to the streets in an
attempt to get a complete educa-
tion on drugs. He was determined
never to be taken again. While
acquiring h i s drug education,
Ronald ran across a "hot hustle."
He quit his job on the assembly
line at one of the Ford plants and
became a gun runner for a very
wealthy backer. Ronald sold guns
over most of Michigan and was
making fast, easy money.
"I used to get $65 for a Smith
and Wesson revolver, $85 if the
guy was a chump;" he said.
But he was taken again. His
backer quit supplying the unreg-
istered guns and left Ronald with
a lot of angry potential customers.
lice protection in c a s e he was
found out.
AT HOME one night with his
wife. Ronald opened the door to
greet Bennie, an old friend. Ben-
nie h a d brought a stranger to
meet Ronald. He told Ronald of a
plan to rob a woman who sup-
posedly had $2000 of ready cash
in her home. Ronald needed more
money for methadone so, he de-
cided to go along.
He went with the stranger in a
car to a house on Hancock, near
Wayne, State University. As he got
out of the car, Ronald dropped
his cigarettes. He bent down to
pick them up, and as he raised up
he heard a gunshot and felt his
eye explode.
Bernie hed betrayed his trust.
Ronald started to run and was
several yards away from his as-
sailant when a second shot ripped
into his left leg. He could only
think of getting inside a building,
so he dove through the front win-
dow of a nearby house. He told
the man andswoman inside that
someone was shooting at him and
they told him to go to the back of
the house, promising him protec-
tion. They armed themselves with
a shotgun, but the gunman was
gone.
AFTER THAT, the only thing
Ronald can remember is waking
up in Detroit General Hospital.
He underwent surgery the next
day and had his right eye remov-
ed. He still wants to go straight.
Ronald said that he would like
to return to school after he is re-
leased from the hospital and
study to be an anesthesiologist.
And he is near kicking the heroin
habit.
"I can think clearer now than
I have for a long time," he said.
"I know now that heroin "is just a
big sleep. Nothing but a big sleep.
But I think that I just might be
waking up."
01
0
Defeated, he decided to turn to
heroin.
"I j u s t wanted to see if it
would get me out," he said.
Ronald started to mainline her-
oin that he bought on 12th Street.
Almost every day was the same
as the one before - he'd get up
in the morning, "cop a fix," shoot
up and remain high all day. He
soon became addicted.
BLACK JUNKIES in the ghetto
are forced to pay top dollar for
heroin. The pushers m u s t pay
$850 to $900 an ounce for pure
heroin. They then cut it with lac-
tose - which is becoming very
difficult to buy - or any of a va-
riety of adulterants. Much of the
heroin in ghetto Detroit is cut in
part with "dormins," a type of
sleeping pill. This causes a burn
under the skin instead of the us-
ual itch caused by quinine. The
pushers then sell it at close to 500
per cent profit to their customers.
Ronald bought his heroin from
"Nitty," a black dealer known for
shooting junkies that crossed him,
but the type of volume dealer that
can be found in almost any neigh-
borhood in downtown Detroit.
Nitty's front man, a man called
Jerry, runs dope from large vol-
ume dealers in the narcotic heir-
archy. The heroin is then cut by
Nitty's mistress and sold.
Ronald became addicted but
had only acquired an $18 a day
habit after six months of shooting
up. One day last summer he de-
cided to kick his habit, re-enlist
in the Army and support his wife
and daughter. He didn't want a
record of addiction, so he decid-
ed to buy methadone on the street,
an expensive method of acquiring
the heroin substitute. So he rob-
bed one of Nitty's dope houses.
He also made a deal with Detroit's
Metro Squad to work as an in-
formant in an attempt to gain po-
__ _ _ _._ _
Letters to The Daily
JIM BEATTIE
Executive Editor
DAVE CHUDWINj
Managing Editor
STEVE KOPPMAN Editorial Page Editor
RICK PERLOFF ,. Associate Editorial Page Editor
PAT MAHONEY . ......Assistant Editorial Page Editor
LYNN WEINER .. .Associate Managing Editor
LARRY LEMPERT .......Associate Managing Editor
ANITA CRONE. ............ . ..Arts Editor
ROBERT CONROW .... Books Editor
JIM JUDKIS........ .....Photography Editor
NIGHT EDITORS: Rose Sue Berstein, Mark Dillen,
Sara Fitzgerald, Tammy Jacobs, Jonathan Miller,
Hester Pulling, Carla Rapoport, Robert Schreiner,
W. E. Schrock.
DAY EDITORS: Juanita . Anderson. Jim McFerson,
Linda Dreeben, Alan Lenhoff, 'Hannah Morrison,
Chris Parks, Gene Robinson.
ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Kenneth Cohn, Mike
Grupe, Jim Irwin, John Mitchell, Kristin Ring-
strom, Zachary Schiller, Kenneth Schulze, Tony
Schwartz, Jay Sheyevitz, Gloria Jane Smith, Sue
Stark, Ted Stein, Paul Travis, Chuck Wilbur,
Marcia Zoslaw.
Research debate
To The Daily:
AS A VISITING professor I
have watched with great interest
the debate on classified research
on campus. Frankly I have been
shocked at theanumber ofprofes-
sors who have managed to find one
argument or another in favor of
the continuation of this research.
It seems obvious to me that it is
contrary to the very essence of a
university, a community of scholars
and students, to carry on research
the results of which cannot be
shared with the community. It
seems clearly chilling to the spirit
of a free exchange of ideas if some
students must obtain and retain
federal security clearance in or-
der to participate in a research
project.
have been overriding reasons for
allowing classified military re-
search. Conversely, at the present
time when some members of the
university under the label of re-
search are cooperating in crimes
against the people of Indochina.
there is an important reason for
strict enforcement of a rule against
classified military research.
The 'only genuine argument in
favor of classified research is that
the scientists and engineers need
the money. Yet even this argu-
ment does not display an enlight-
ened self-interest, b,1cause the
source of many of the present dif-
ficulties faced by the scientific
community may be traced to the
apparent willingness of scientists
to carry out research and accept
money without regard to the social
consequences. This is the essen-
tial reason we find so many of otir
students on the one hand and the
Reagans on the other united in
their attack on the scientific in-
Such;
viewed
text of
Second'
general principles must be
and reviewed in the con-
the times. Thus during the
World War there may well
tellectual community.
IN THE LONG RUN the future
of the scientific enterprise and of
the university is dim if the ma-
jority voice among is is that of
the mercenaries.
-Lincoln Wolfenstein
Prof. Department of
Physics
March 24
Fast
'to The Daily:
MANY .OF US share Walter
Shapiro's search for a workable
revolutionary tactic. His suggest-
ed mass fast to replace confronta-
tion in Washington, D.C., is fine
except it is in the wrong place
and by the wrong people. Before
the D.C. military would allow
fainting from malnutrition before
a national TV audience, they
would invoke "tresspass" laws or
urovoke violence. You would have
confrontation anyway. The chance
to win the sympathies of the Si-
lent Majority would vanish. The
enemy is intelligent as well as
brutal and it won't hold still for
you.
The place for a massive fast is
probably in the high schools (and
junior highs?) on a national lev-
el. How would the enemy stop this
visible moral / physical s t a n d
against the war before the Silent
Majority - their parents, teach-
ers, etc.? Would the schools or
homes be invaded to put it down?
Not possible. Parents and teachers
would have to be drawn into the
scene by this example.
Finally, they all would be made
aware that the people who rule
them are not moved by moral is-
sues and acts. The barbarity and
corruption would standi clear.
Many minds would be set freeand
all involved are of an age permit-
ting decisive and direct action.
-Robert V. Gray
March 18
JAMES WECHSLER...
Nixon on Calley:
aMoral entrapment
T WO NOTABLY different explanations of President Nixon's sudden
personal intervention in the Lt. Calley case have emerged in the
aftermath of his actions. Once again there is a certain identity crisis
in the clashing portraits.
According to what might be called the sob-sister version of history,
as unfolded by United Press International, "an anguished President
Nixon awoke in the middle of the night following the sentencing of
Lt. William Calley and decided to step into the case out of compas-
sion for the young officer and respect forall U.S. fighting men."
After that story achieved wide circulation, correspondents cover-
ing the President at San Clemente apparently reassessed this saga
of inspirational insomnia. By yesterday Robert Semple Jr. was report-
ing in The Times:
"Some observers here believe that Mr. Nixon's judgment that
he ought to do something to quiet national discontent was aimed
largely at heading off a siege of national soul-searching that might
in time have led to an increasing number of voters to question the
fundamental assumptions of the country's involvement in Vietnam."
NO DOUBT there will be many other chapters added to the
literature of Presidential motivation. What is interesting about
the speculation so far is that no one has suggested that Mr. Nixon
seriously contemplated any effort to resist the frenzy and to elevate
the level of debate - even at th risk of momentary popular disfavor.
What is now being depicted by some of his press agents as his gallant
resolve to "cool" the country may be one day recognized as weakness
and panic under fire. The a! x
.vvttrans- who convicted Calley
judges - five of them Vietnam
after tortured deliberation became
the expendables.
Certainly there is a case for
the proposition that Mr. Nixon
could not and shouldnot have re-
mained silent in the face of the
frfnational uproar. It is what he said
* and did as the telegrams piled up
that is at issue:
There was an honorable, more
valorous alternative.
He could have solemnly, re-
minded the country of the dili-
gence and dedication of the mili-
tary court.
He could have spelled out the
process of appeal that lay ahead
-- and warned against the peril of
substituting mob rule for judicial
Lt. William Calley procedures.
MOST IMPORTANT of all, he
could have emphasizes that that trial represented a conscientious,
unprecedented effort to begin the process of examining rsponsibility
on every level for the wanton slaughter of innocents in the conduct
of the war. Amid the charge that Calley had been made the "scape-
goat" for the offenses of men in higher place, he could have affirmed
his commitment to pursuit of the whole story, no matter where it led,
He could have reminded his countrymen that what was being tested
was our capacity as a nation to confront the truth about ourselves.
FOR AS LONG as the President publicly clings to the self-
righteous view that the U.S. has done nothing basically wrong in
Vietnam, that our presence there remains an act of wisdom and bene-
volence and that the oppressive Thieu-Ky regime is worthy of our
unwavering allegiance, he faces a deep moral entrapment in the war-
crime debate.
At the start of his Administration, Mr. Nixon had a momentous
chance to clear the air by renouncing the sanctity of our Vietnam
alliance. No rhetoric he uses can begin to restore domestic tranquility
and .sanity. Ironically the Calley furor, curiously uniting men of
many diverse views in revulsion against the war and its consequences,
has given him another great opportunity to proclaim unequivocal with-
drawal.
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