The Commission considers this recommendation to be of high priority in any major effort related to drug abuse. Such a master research plan would be a major undertaking, and it should be adequately financed, staffed, and equipped. The task of designing it should be assigned to a Government official or agency at the highest appropriate level. A program for the preparation and widespread distribution of accurate information is one of the essentials to material progress towards solution of the problem. This program should cover all appropriate fields, including the general public, educational, legal and medical professions, and the social welfare agencies.
Some familiar examples are the barbiturates, the amphetamines, and the so-called tranquilizers.
They are manufactured in the United States in increasing quantities and varieties. Even so, notes of caution were sounded which, had they been heeded, might have very much changed the developments we shall be recording in a subsequent chapter. The Commission is of the view that any scheme of regulation of their manufacture, sale, and distribution should not at this time parallel the scheme of regulation in present Federal narcotics laws, since the more stringent controls of the narcotics laws would seriously hamper the legitimate medical use of these drugs. General supervision over combatting the illicit drug traffic was to be transferred to a Special Assistant for Narcotic and Drug Abuse appointed by the President and attached to the White House. Even the function of disseminating educational material about drugs was to be shifted from Treasury to HEW, and the latter department was also to take over all aspects of the control of the legitimate importation and manufacture of drugs, which was to be recast in a regulatory pattern based on the interstate and foreign commerce powers of Congress instead of on the tax power.