The Washington times., 1922-01-05

nearly twice the old ratio under equal
II not better police adminiss ration.
Meantime. the health commissioner
Of the city Of New York, calmly an
nounces that he has cured all the ad
diets In the greatest city. He has
shut down his s1nitarium, the River.
side Sanitarium, maintained at great
expense to the city for the treatment
OF drug addiction. by failure to secure
funds to continue II in operation.
This Is just as well. This sanitar.
ium was a signal failure from it's in.
ception, being overrun and surrounded
by Illicit peddling in narcotics which
rave evidence OF the poor efficacy OF
the treatment administered.
1T Is without fear OF contradiction
that ! assert that from 70 to 30 per
cent of the cures that DIR. COPELAND
urned out OF Riverside were in such
poor physical condition that they i'm
lnediately returned to the use Of drugs
practically the sole remaining
large hospitals for the treatment o.:
drug addiction In a city that is literal
ly over-run with addicts. peddlers and
smugglers. are two penal institutions
One purporting to cure women addictS
Is known as welfare" and Is situated
in the old workhouse on Blackwelrs ;,
island. The other deals with male
cases and Is situated on Riker's island
with the exception Of a small
number Of cases treated at the Metro
politan and Bellevue hospitals, the re.
naming place for treatment Is thu
Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn
where the cold turkey" H. e., druL
withdrawal without medication o.,
treatmenO Is INDUCED in with all its
consequent suffering and horrors.
II. AtnA In
drug ridden New York facing two
alternatives. II he has the cash. NJ
can go to one of the privately owned
sanitariums charging fancy prices for
the alleged cure of narcotic addiction
II he has not the price, he goes to the
street peddler or the corner peddler
for his daily dose, and II he Is picked
up by the police, he can either take d
voluntary commitment Of 100 days
or an involuntary longer sentence T.
Rikers island. Under the same condi-
lions Of commitment, women are con
signed to the workhouse on Riker' o
island.
THE treatment administered at
these two penal institutions Is a dis.
grace to New York city and the
nation. 1t consists Of a rapid reduction
treatment of from six to eighteen days
with but slight II any attendance or
medication. Arrests for Illicit traffic in
narcotics by prison attendants have
been frequent in those places. Both in
situations have been charged in the
newspapers with being overrun with
narcotics illicitly smuggled The
net result Of this treatme Mt Is almost
Immediate return to the use OF the
drug by the majority Of discharged
prisoners.
1.-THE conditions outlined In New
York city are typical Of every large
city in the United States and are the
direct result of restrictive rules and
regulations fostered and administered
by men who are either ignorant nf
true addiction conditions and proper
methods Of treatment or seek to fat.
ten the purses of exploiters OF ad-
diction victims.
"The policies Of the New York
health commissioner and those as.
ISOLATED with him are at the fore,
front Of the anti-doctor agitation which
has brought about a crisis In the
whole country through consequent
aggravation of underworld conditions
and the increase of smuggling.
"In a later address. / will supple
ment these charges with detailed
review Of addiction conditions"