''TIDE HAS TURNED' IN THE WAR ON HEROIN'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00380R000300060014-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 29, 2005
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: July 16, 1973
• Content Type: OPEN

U.S. flews and World Report J
Approved
"Mu: 5/FAGS
By Dr. Hans H. Neuman,
Director of Preventive Medicine, Department of Health, New Haven, Conn.
We have arrived at a turning point in
,the heroin epidemic. In New Haven, as in
many other cities, overdose and death due
to this drug have become a rarity, and the
number of persons coming under care for
detoxification is showing a sharp decline.
The result of education? Of methadone
substitution? What has brought about this
remarkable change in the addiction picture
after seven years in which there was a dis-
tressing annual increase in the number of
heroin addicts?
This promising turnabout appears to be
the resua.lt of .lasyear sT telrom s ns ortage,
U-nited--States an ra ua y spread west-
. tivar n Connecticut, t e neroin content
per bag sold in the streets has dropped
steadily since early 1972, while its price doubled. Impor-
tantly, the dire prediction that "the higher price of heroin
will only increase the crime rate, so that addicts will be able
to get the larger sums of money they need for the purchase
of the drug," has not materialized.
AtAhe two major treatment programs in New Haven, the
decline in the requests for admission has been dramatic-
roughly 50 per cent in the last six months-and similar de-
creases are reported from other areas throughout the county
Admissions with a diagnosis' of drug abuse to all Connect-
icut State institutions averaged 213 per month in 1971, and
166 per month in the first half of 1972. In the second half
of 1972? these were the number' of admissions: July, 157;
August, 126; September, 91; October, 90; November, 81,
and December, 44.
Wherever the heroin shortage is acute, its impact is mani-
festing itself in two ways: in fewer people to detoxify, and,
because of the greater dilution of what is available on the
-street, dependence among habitues is less severe and detoxi-
fication easier. In many addicts,' instead of the usual increase
in dosage and tolerance, a gradual drug withdrawal took
place during the last year.
y
wit t-e l ero n el
- i n or t an
y'li4A J cl,ul lJ
prove that it catr one, one o' the ere it s ou no
.oubt, go to the new ccr of of Drug Abuse Law Enforce-
ment. Apparently the harassment and prosecution of big-
ti
d
me tra
ers can upset supply systems.
Paradoxically, the enormous number of heroin
United States-over half a million-turned into
sorts. A limited supply in a huge market makes for costly
and meager doses of heroin in the envelopes, and, with it,
for forced withdrawal on a mass scale.
Two other methods of attacking the heroin problem have
been drug-education and treatment programs. Regarding the
education of adolescents on this subject, there is a growing
concern that its usefulness is an illusion. While it might help
a few-the youngsters least likely to become drug addicts
with or without education-it induces many
of the potential users to experiment. "Se-
duces" might be a better word for it. In
immature youngsters, drug education may
have the paradoxical effect of stirring a
morbid curiosity. Often enough the urge to
daring and defiance under even ordinary
circumstances is a part of growing up.
Researchers at the University of Michigan
did a study of the relationship between
drug education and drug use and found that
junior-high-school students who were ex-
posed to a drug-education program sharply
increased their experimentation with drugs.
Control groups experimented far less. Other
surveys in California and Texas have pro-
duced similar evidence. There is enough
IN THE WAR ON HERON
catItlt angle, the most effective way to comae
doubt about its effects to declare a morn-?
torium on drug education as part of the school curriculum.
Do we have methadone substitution and other treatment
methods to thank for the turnabout? Experiences in New
Haven do not support such?a theory. The reason our hospitals
are admitting fewer heroin addicts is not because they were
redirected to methadone centers. Our outpatient facilities are
also experiencing a lower patient load.
Methadone programs in more and larger centers can be a
curse, as evidenced by the massive leaks of methadone into
some communities and the frightening increase in the num-
ber of methadone-related deaths nationally. Even if all pro-
grams were run faultlessly, there are other strong objections
from a public-health. viewpoint.
In times of ample heroin supply, th abuse ;n a communi-
ty expan s to t o -extent of the drug obtainable. And i 'for
every hundredm users entering metha one treatment a
hundred new ones will fill their places, nothing is gained
from a )rublic health. angle even if some individuals benefit.
This lesson has been learned in Washington, D. C., in a
period when heroin was readily available... .
Our current experience provides strong evidence that the
of y e ec the way to CO e witIl t re Heroin epi citric is to
disrupt its traffic.n clam e
9Y-2
in crime, ew .a murder, produces a lit , ;rttrrtron r' ate ir; the
narco cs type e. ret e enninec aw enforcement is acid
to these III t-in pressures the final blow it Ica s rnt, ,r very
to tn+TT Last ears efforts in this dirtiQp have paid off at
the hosnita c el s- nd at tlI n,nt. tie r.
-The tide s turned. Whether we can keep it that wav
will depend on our efforts and our ingenuity in keeping rite
drugs from reaching the streets-and on the amount of public
support we will obtain in giving this endeavor the priority
it deserves.
The foregoing are excerpts from an article by Dr. Neumann,
"Progress in the Other War. the Heroic De-escalation," re-
printed by permission from the "Mecttcal Tribune" of June
6. Copyright 1973, Medical Tribune, Inc.
Approved For Release 2005/04/21 : CIA-RDP75B0038OR000300060014-2
 Approved For Release 2005/04/21 : CIA-RDP75B0038OR000300060014-2
The Washington Post
July 13, 1973
!'~"~?"`-'~^'r" zi~[7.r !ris..,rz .~+r' -"y.< ..v+y- -.-~~} s-r-,r .~"`~;T wvt 'K*~v.^ i B [ki'~i:.}.?
rod III Heron iJsetuuea .
By Stuart Auerbach
' -core'dd;`
The new chief of President- "There are relatively'-, few To get these hard
Nixon's war on drugs, Dr. Rob- new users coming in," he saic{~ diets, DuPont said, "We will
red yes- In the District of Columbia,. no longer wait passively for`r
ert L: DuPont., declared
terday that the nation's heroin for example, 2,500 - persons. individual dependents on her-"
;epidemic "is now approaching were found to have first used oin to come to treatment cen-
the point of a turnabout-' i heroin in. 1969. Last year, ters. Rather, we will actively
:`.'While stopping just short of there were only 90 first time . reach out to penetrate the ad
users. diction underground and urge=
saying that the nine-year epi-' He said that deaths 'frame ?heroin abusers to become pa
cited .has ended, DuPont) overdoses of both heroin and. tients in our varied types of
:--cited three indications that methadone (a synthetic opiate' care."-
?he number of heroin users inj used in narcotic treatment, DuPont, who ran a largil~io
- t h e na ion as en cut in half programs) decreased almost 50.'.
methadone maintenance pro-
000 to 600,000 daily users in down fastest on the East Coast -
~1971, and in the Middle West, and:'
i ,Only a year ago," said Du- slowest on the West Coast;
,Pont, former director of Wash- The number of cases-of heP
fngton's Narcotics Treatment atitis--often caused by the.
Administration, "the increase dirty needles used by addtets-:f
In heroin addicts was our chief decreased by one-fourth in the
f th?
e
h
the country compared to 500,- that the epidemic was slowing--- #3>
gram In Washington credited
with cutting the crime rate and,
-
ending the drug epidemic,
here, said addicts who are'
weaned from heroin through'
the use of methadone do not?-!
DuPont, wno was ap- area. become. addicted to the new
pointed director of the White! In New York City, he said;`' " drug.
,,louse's special action officel overdose deaths decreased' In fact, he said, only 2,200
1 from 267 to 167; In Chicago out of the 15,0001 addicts
for drug abuse prevention a from 48 to 15; in Washington"=
month ago, estimated there fr -'t 27 to 9 and in San Fran- started re the l taki ngton pea
~ gram are still taking metha?
'are now between 200,000 and ciscofrom 11 to 9. done.
?ince a epidemic Brea in per cent during the first three.,
1 7T-, rya ew years - he re- months of this year compared'-,
fused to specify ow many - to the same time. in 1972.
e er o a acts ;Overdose deaths traditionally
s ou a re uce to a pre-epi- have been used to measure `
MIS eve the number of addicts in an.,
problem and concern.
"Today, signs are that the
'.rate of increase in the number
of newly addicted individuals
Is on the down side. This indi-
eator signals a likely red e-
.'tlon in e o a a let popula-
.tion- in the forPeeeatile 'trt.
To ,bolster his optimistic=
prediction-th( first from -an-
administration official on the'-
nation's : drug problems-Du-
s o is y
--
-4first three mont
compared to the same period:
in 1972- By contrast, there.wa$j
only an ti per cent decrease-
between 1971 and 1972.
DuPont credited the sharp,;
decrease in heroin use to
three factors: the spread
fl1rou-nout the country of.-
Law rs; a ? ell
foremen a uce to
a un o i =e on.
umrz: 1: e s n to realu?. on an~ang nia voun~ eo le
tha ieroin is a dung erous, c;
is ive rug.
Pont cited decreases in heroin; + espi a js optimistic fore.
overdose deaths, decreases -in . ! cast, DuPont said, "We "ill r
hepatitis cases and data show hay a Ian w?.. ~ in the.i
lag that the number of people., treatment of heroin addicts.", ,
who, started u-iing heroin for. -i He said the government wild ."
the first time. in the last year,; be treating chronic heroin ad-`:
decreased sharply,; q - . 1 1 for many yeats to,eonj~ v{
Approved For Release 2005/04/21 : CIA-RDP75B0038OR000300060014-2
ROBERT L. DUPONT!'
.... "turnabout"
 CONFIDENTIAL - ^ SECRET
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DATE T
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cer designation, room number, and
DATE
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OFFICER
INITIALS
COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
to wham. Draw a line across column after each comment.)
I.
OLC
7 D 35
T4n Q
-,
The first attached
2.
.
article by Dr. Neumann
attributes the decline in
narcotics addiction to the
3.
shortage of heroin in the
northeast portion of the
United States during the
4.
~~ -
past year (note underlined
portions). According to
Dr. Neumann, this shortage
5.
results from increasingly
effective domestic and
international enforcement
b.
action. This view is
supported in the second
attached article from
7.
today's Washington Post, whi
reports at Dr. Robert L.
DuPont has also concluded
8?
that within a few years the
number of heroin addicts will
be substantially reduced.
9.
If this is so, we can
-
take some satisfaction in
10.
the knowledge that the CIA
has contributed significantly
to the curtailment of the
11
flow of illicit narcotics in l
the United States. Assuming
t-wide
h
h
12.
Copies have been
fo
rwarde
d to:
e governmen
at t
t
(including CIA) momentum
DDO
continues over the next `ew
d
k f
l
13.
S
C/AF
C/EUR
EA
orwar
oo
years, we can
to a time when this Agency
can begin to plan for a
i
h
14.
C/NE
C/SB
C Wei:
n t
reduction
e resource tTA
committed to the narcotic
program.
15.
OGC
0/DCI
C DDO OPS
FORM 610 USED EDITIONS
3-42 F-1 SECRET Q CONFIDENTIAL
IN ItKMAL ^ UNCLASSIFIED
USE 4tilY
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