Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-05-31

Passages Seen
By End Of June
Abernethy Expects
Agreement on New
Control Over Pills
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG

iSlation for the District said he
believed all objections could be
ironed out in time to get the
through Congress by
the end of June.
Representative Abernethy,
Democrat of Mississippi, made
the forecast after a hearing at
which Commissioner Robert E.
Mclaughlin testified that so
many addicts were likely to be
confined under the new measure
that the Commissioners are
planning to open a second maxi
mum security ward in District
General Hospital.
The measure, on which Sem
ate District subcommittee hear
ings were held earlier in the
week, provides new law enforce
ment tools, more control over
dope addictS and control for the
first time over barbiturates or
sleeping pills and amphetamines
or thrill pills"
Conference Is Planned
Mr.. Abernethy noted that no
objections had been raised at to-
days hearing either to the new
addict provisions or to strength
ened endorsements methods. All
of the objections and conflicting
testimony centered on the pro-
posed controls over the sleep
ing and thrill pills.
The chairman told the wit
nesses that they would have to
get together and arrive at some
kind of a compromise.
Immediately after the hear
ing. committee clerk William N.
Mcleod, jr., said he would ask
the Commissioners. and repre-
sentatives of the pharmacist Or
CARNATIONS, the Corporation
Counsels Office and the United
States Attorneys Office and po-
lice to a conference to work out
acceptable amendments.
District Faces Deadline
Mr.. Abernethy noted that the
District faces a June 80 dead
line on its authority to send its
non-criminal addicts to the Fed
eral narcotics hospital at Lex
ington, KY. The pending meas
ure extends this authority in
definitely and increases the num-
Der of District patients who can
be there at any one time from
so to 100.
Mr.. Abernethy said he thought
the June 80 deadline could be
met.
Commissioner Mclaughlin dis
closed his plans for increasing
the facilities for addictS at Dis
trict General Hospital during
the discussion of the treatment
program for addicts. Under
questioning from Representa-
tive Miller, Republican of Ne
braska, who sponsored the orig
inal dope addict legislation here,
Mr.. Mclaughlin explained that
there is now one locked ward
at District General Hospitals
psychiatric division but this is
used to house the criminally in
sane as we'll as addicts.
Commissioner Mclaughlin said
after the hearing that he coulc
visualize as many as Is suspected
addicts hitting the hospital al
one time after a police narcotics
raid. He also said that probably
additional staff help would have
to be sought in later appropria-
ton requests.
Present Law Seen Ignored
DR.. Miller, in his questioning
Iof Commissioner Mclaughlin
and Health Director Daniel l..
Seckinger, made it clear that
while he favors the new addict
proposals. he did not think
enough effort had been made to
get addicts treated under the
present law.
1T has been ineffective" he
declared. because it has not
been enforced"
The pharmacists who testifiS-
objected to the amount of records
they would have to keep under
the new law, objected to Federal
inspection of non-narcotic pre-
scription files and commended
that physicians should not be
excluded from keeping records.
DR.. Joseph Lawrence, repre-.
senting the District Medical So
ciety, said the medical society
likes the bill the way it is now
with its exclusion of physicians
and he objected to the pharma-
cists' proposal to make the ply
sicians keep records, too.
Harold Kinner, secretary Of
/ the District Pharmaceutical As.
ISOLATION, said that the biannua
record keeping should be limited
to the pure barbiturate and am.
phetamines and should not in.
clude their compounds. If thai
amendment is not accepted, HI
warned, the pharmacists woulc
have to inventory between 5000
and 10000 drug preparations.