Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-21
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institutional care. totally with
out drugs.
His own policy, he said. was
to give addicts the "cold turkey
treatment-taking them immedi-
ately of drugs rather than grad
ually withdrawing them from the
habit.
Calls Clinics Nonsense
AS for proposals to set up al
chain of narcotic clinics to keep
addicts supplied with mainte-
nance doses. DR.. Baldi told the
subcommittee;
II want to 60 on record OPP
posing this medical nonsense and
claptrap. You might just as well
give an alcoholic his alcohol with
the hope he viii taper of. You
might just as well give q loaded
gun to a murderer to carry with
a permit and hope. he would go
straight and perhaps throw the
gun away. A drug addict is not
any safer or so-called normal
when on the drug. He is actual
~ more dangerous to the COM
munity."
The subcommittee also heard
DR.. R. r. Gamso, medical super
intendent at Riverside Hospital
for juvenile addicts here. In
describing the operation Of the
hospital, he said that more than
800 employees serve a capacity
of 140 addicts at a per capita
rate of $3.50 a day.
Opposes Proposal
DR.. Gamso was asked, like all
the other witnesses. how he feels
about legalized drugs. He said
he did not think it was practical
and added that II the addict had
access to the free drugs, he
would take them and go to the
black market for more.
Senators Opposed
Before today's hearing the two
members Of the subcommittee
came out fatty against any plan
to give addicts free or cheap
shots Of dope.
Senators Daniel and Butler
told newsmen they both oppose
clinics for addicts and any drug
treatment outside institutions.
Senator Butler said he would
never vote a cent for appropri-
atoms to finance these clinics
and Senator Daniel said the ad- !
dict problem will never De licked
until addicts are gotten off the
streets.
Oppose Test Project
Both Senator Daniel and Sen.
ator Butler. in preview Of the
report they will carry back to-
washington, also came. out
against an experiment in giving
free drugs to small group Of
addicts as research project.
The research proposal, ad-
vanced by United States Public
Health Service narcotics experts
yesterday. kicked OF an in
dignant protest from Senator
Daniel. He wound up by polling
all seven Public Health experts
on the scene for their individual
opinions.
It began when Assistant
Surgeon General Halsey Hunt |
was asked to comment on the
clinic proposal advanced earlier
in the sessions by the New York |
Academy Of Medicine.
DR.. Hunt said the Public
Health Service had not taken
an official position but its mar
cotics experts agree that they
seriously doubt a program of
supplying addicts with drugs in
q clinic setup would work.
Withhold Flat Answer
He then went on to say:
However, because our knowl-
edge is based on experience with
limited types of patients and
because Of the earnestness and
the scientific standing of the
proponents Of this proposal. we
would hesitate to make this an
absolute answer.
1--WE suggest that there is an
opportunity for research and
investigation under highly COM
petent and qualified investi- |
gators, preferably under the
aegis Of a nationally recognized
organization such as the Ma
tiona1 Research Council, of a.
well-defined project on limited
number of addicts. This would
serve to broaden our knowledge |
in this field and give US body |
Of scientific facts upon which
an opinion could be more solidly
based"
Senator Daniel. ordinarily al
quiet interrogation. leaned across
the committee table and told the
witness angrily:
ct am certainly disappointed
that you don't have a more def
mite position on the question Of
the distribution Of narcotics. If
you haven't some definite rec
concentrations after all the years
you people have put into this
and after seeing $4,000 addicts,
how could the National Research
Councn arrive at a conclusion?"
Pressed for Opinion
DR.. Hunt replied that the Pub
lie Health Service hadn't ap-
preached the addict problem
from the point of view of the
proposal for drug clinics. He
said he wasn't in a position to
say the New York Academy of
Medicine was necessarily, abb
solutely wrong" /