H is for joy; Addiction: International status

The following program is produced as a public service feature by the radio division of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. With cooperation from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Illinois division of narcotic control we present. H is for joy. In past programs of this series we've mentioned facts that imply the successful control of narcotic addiction is not easily achieved if outside forces seek to infiltrate and smuggle illicit narcotics into a country that country's methods of internal narcotic control will not reach their potential peak of efficiency only through unity of purpose can countries be linked together to form an effective

block to the narcotic traffic. In this program in the next three H's for joy I will attempt an analysis of the current drug addiction problem. We must have something with which to compare it. Here we call on history to supply the facts. The years nineteen hundred nineteen fifty narcotics were freely available. Opiates were used as a cure for alcoholism and patent medicines contained addicting amounts of drugs. The addicts habit was heavy. Drugs were cheap plentiful opium smoking was common one in every four hundred persons was an addict. And then in 1915 the Harrison Act was passed. The years 19 15 to 19 20 doctors mistakenly sold addicts the drugs they needed to maintain their habit. Official treatment clinics were begun the addiction rate leveled off but did not decline. The years 1920 to 1940 stronger and more accurate

enforcement of the Harrison Act led to a steady but slow decline in addiction. However narcotics still could be purchased and illegal smuggling operations continued to supply the addicted habits became lighter as legal strength increased. Opium smoking began to die out. Now only one person in 3000 was an addict. The years 1940 to 1959. Success seemed good. Then after the war failure heroin addiction burst among the youth like a spring thunderstorm illegal traffic enjoyed its new market and the coffers of the syndicates grew fat. Then 1952 the biogs act followed in 1956 by the Narcotics Control Act. The addiction rate went down. And finally success seemed to be established again as one in every three thousand five hundred was the final score. Where do we stand today. What's the current picture. Well those are not easy questions to answer. Statistics take a long time to compile

but keep listening. As we said at the beginning of this program only with the unified help of many nations can our nation entirely overcome the threat of narcotic addiction. It's upon the international cooperation that success depends but what kind of international cooperation is effective. Listen to Harry J n slinger the US commissioner of narcotics as he tells us what is currently being done. MR. Could you give us a brief picture of the current international traffic situation. Yes in relation to the United Nations there will be in January in York a lot of attention for which will be attended to and codified and traded and protocols which will bring in every phase of the dark chronic problem dealing with the

limitation of the production of opium the limitation of actual control of the distribution regulation of the trade. And there will also head the better of the how to handle drug addicts and I think the plight of a really great at TED treatment must be in a closed institution. Real cause for optimism on an international basis said thank you very heartening thing one is the fact that all of the all of the nations have agreed not to bargain prices or give away opium to that they'd all be in the shops. They're controlled by the great heart of the Far East have all been closed shops because

when that happened last year and want to build a world is certainly moving forward so that the narcotics will be used only for medical needs and not for Clay's diabetic caloric legitimately is not added on the one hand on the other fellow there only if the 23. Alkaloids of opium there are now 65 new synthetic drugs all of which are just as harmful as forefeet or heroin and are as dangerous in relation to causing drug addictions. And here the United Nations has been able to bring those all of those drugs under complete international control so that their manufacture is limited to medical needs as estimated by an internet supervisory body. And here we have a situation where in this country if there were if those drugs were uncontrolled life we probably had a hundred thousand addicts to

synthetic drugs or had economic and a billion dollars a day or 350 billion dollars a year yet our contribution to the United Nations for our purposes. It was economic and social goals only a portion of that figure which would make life easier so you see the United Nations see it if you disregard everything else in the in the dark. How do you feel they have been eminently successful and driven to so illegitimate used to manufacture heroin for the American market out of business and all of that and all of that heroin traffic is now underground. It was an estimate of Saturday night keynoter 21 of a billion that take this country and today we just can't get over 60000. Do you think out of narcotics have you seen any

slight slight changes we see we see a scattering of these people I think is that empire is gradually dissolving because of it that it was a we were of course we were all thinking. Don't try to take over where the router's left off but we're still getting we're getting heroin about it slightly decreasing about that was a mystery and your US commissioner of narcotics. We can seem to take the optimistic view that the international scene will be clearer than our kind of traffic will become less and less of a reality. However while the 60000 addicts in the US won't have much chance to grow in number we are left with the collective monkeys on their backs. What is the current status of addiction inside the US. How effective have the old laws been. How effective are the newest

laws and what effectiveness can we put into future laws. Three questions to be answered in three geographical areas that have the answers to them. The East Coast the Midwest and the West Coast in the remainder of this program we will listen to the answers from the West Coast. Los Angeles the city of the angels the rolling Pacific washes it shores. But what can wash the stain of some 7000 attics from its civic pride. What has the sovereign state of California done to help those who are residents who are caught in the net the hell answering is Howard Chappell. The district supervisor of the narcotics office in Los Angeles. Mr. Chappell is the geographic scope of the work of your office limited to the Los Angeles area. I know it is a part of California which you're practically from the area from Fresno County like order to stop. How did you meet.

Are primarily Las Vegas and that area we also cooperate closely with the authorities and Mexico we can't want to Mexicali our two major border towns and see how many agents do you have working with you in your area Mr chapel. Well we have 33 federal narcotic agents however in addition to that we work very closely with the Customs man on joint matters and our forces are frequently supplemented with personnel from the Customs Service as well as very frequently large numbers of men from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office. I see your relationship then with the Customs Bureau is very close in dealing with this traffic. Yes we have a we have a very good working relationship with the customs agent. I see. Suppose you give us a little bit of information about the scope of the addiction problem as it exists in your area of the country. How many addicts the average age is type of a breakdown. I think that very unfortunately we have the second.

Problem in the United States. I'd say that we are second to New York. Certainly we are worse than Chicago at this time. The last survey that I had made here of non-addict who have been reported to us either through our own bodies or by other local police department and sheriff's office. They figure it's somewhere right around 60 times to 68 I think you're 900 right now at the present time that may not be an absolutely correct figure because we're saying are not of the term. And how many of these may be bad for you. They say that a certain percentage of them are in the penitentiary or perhaps two or three years time and right at this moment we're attempting to determine that that survey which will take a little time. Part of what seems to be the average age among these attics. Well unfortunately again we have a very large number of youthful attic Southern California primarily and the Los Angeles area. We don't have too much for power in the northern part of it but we do have in Southern California

here with the group at the 17 18 19 20 year old age so I am of course on a primary field. Yeah there are many women included in this. These figures there are quite a few women but the majority would be the man I say the house is racially divided as it were out there again I don't have a clue. Down here as for the racial division our nationality we do have a predominantly large Mexican population here. People like that and there is a large amount of that among that group among the current group but that's not being as bad here as it is in other parts of the country. What we do have something unusual about us and if I believe in that is that we can have a large number of addicts coming from fairly good homes is that right. People who come from. Good backgrounds families are responsible people seem to be wayward

get the right getting off on the wrong track. Are there any other characteristics to your problem out there in California which might be unique to your part of the country. Yes we have of course the proximity of the Mexican border. We have a situation here where I don't bet a two or three friends can jump in his automobile and he can drive in a matter of two hours or two and a half hours to a one hour drive from the other border areas and with a relatively small amount of money. Yes. The story of one area faced with a problem of drug addiction. No it doesn't end here. In the next program of H is for joy Mr Chapel will conclude the California picture. There are still questions to be asked. There are still answers to be given. H is for joy. Getting nude

through. To get. To get. A script by Advena her production by Bilal Berg. This is Ted Seeley speaking. The preceding tape recorded program was made available to this station by the National Association of educational broadcasters. This is the end E.B. Radio Network.