Mr. KYROS. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Prever.

Mr. PREYER. I would agree. Mr. Wright, with you and your associates that the role of the ex-addict can certainly be important, and I think the committee generally agrees.

The question I would like to ask any of the three of you-and you should all be in a position to answer it-is: To what extent do you find methadone available on the street?

One of the problems with methadone is diversion. Is it out on the street here in New Orleans?

Mr. ANDERSON, I would like to answer this question for you. In the past, yes, it was on the street. But this was because of poor supervision in sene vrvenan—some programs and not all programs.

They had a tendency to take what they call "takeouts." Like some gus would one in and say, "I am on 180," and really high is taking SSP do is save this quantity and sell it and use heroin. But if they had a closer supervision, you wouldn't have this problem on the street.

Mr. Parys. Do you think the clinics here are now aware of this problem and are tightening up!

Mr. GRr. Right.

Mr. Pays. The system will collapse if they aren't regulated this

Wr. WGRr. I can understand this.

Mr. Pays. Do you have any examples of young people being cosed on methadone! You mentioned the 14- and 15-year-olds, and

neilt oned how addictive methadone is, if the young 14- and 15cai-olds get a hold of methadone on the street. Is this happening at

Mr. UNDERSON. Let me try to answer this for you. To the best of my rea.duge, 10. This is more of a theory type of thing. It is a say-so, tay hasn't been proven. Being an ex-addict, it hasn't hape ower Ninth where I live.

6. Let me answer this. I will answer yes, it is happen1st happening? This is how it happens: You have some peoselves doing each other favors, and this is wrong.

when they go to get their medicine, they swing with watch everybody. Do you understand?

ches don't have the money, they don't have Federal stance, the clinic I worked at with Dr. Nix. It was to 'ways had enough people to work there, but Phat only have one person, one nurse to watch * anderstand?

up to get this medicine, he goes up with his As another cup and gives it to the nurse, and it's hand and he goes out. This is to help his

vay of a case of a young girl, and she is very her methadone. He and I had an altercaif she were that sick bring her here, n her on the program, but not to give

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So, I do hope that measures will be found to componente pengle lise you into the rehabilitation programs of this morning.

Mr. WRIGHT. May I ask you one question!

Mr. SYMINGTON. Yes.

Mr. WRIGHT. Have you heard any of my radio programs!

Mr. SYMINGTON. Of yours!

Mr. WRIGHT. Yes.

Mr. SYMINGTON. No. Sir. I haven't.

Mr. WRIGHT. I worked with Mr. Harvey and Mr. Brankman, and this has been my whole thing, to keep the young people of the drugs. Do you understand?

If we can do this, we have it licked. the problem is licked.

Mr. SYMINGTON. I agree with that. On the Today show the other morning they showed hearings before the Senate in which two 15year-old children were telling how drugs were quite available in their school and were being passed between them, and they have tried. between these two youngsters, everything.

Mr. WRIGHT. I have a dossier in my mind of everything that has happened to me since I have been in the hospital, and I will submit a résumé to you and let you know what happened.

Mr. ROGERS. Thank you.

(The résumé re erred to was not available to the committee at the time of printing.)

Mr. ROGERS. Dr. Roy?

Mr. Roy. I have only one question, and I will direct it to the three of you. I know you, Mr. Wright, have been on heroin and methadone. I don't know about you other two gentlemen. My question: Can you function better and can you work better when you are taking methadone than when you are taking heroin?

Mr. ANDERSON. I would like to answer that for you. As I said before, I am an ex-addict. I have been an addict for 15 years. My opinion is, yes, you can function because you are able to hold à normal job, because by taking methadone you are able to put in your

us because methadone holds you for a period of

ou may have to leave your job three or four tim cus on the individual.

ng to say-the gentleman said a minute ago i egun a large sum of money to stop drugs from comi Cy. My opinion is that, if you appropriate this mon icone programs and rehabilitation programs, I feel yo eccer results.

ank you.

Thank you, gentlemen. Your testimony has been mo ve are grateful for your coming here and having tl Your greaking,

The committee is pleased to have with us the Louisian "Rostaci tation Commission's Chairman, Dr. Chester Scrig am Swanson and Mr. Edward Alderette, the com

Acciaie director.

STATEMENTS OF DR. CHESTER SCRIGNAR, CHAIRMAN, DR. WII OLO SWANSON, MEMBER, AND EDWARD ALDERETTE, EXEC $ DIRECTOR, THE LOUISIANA NARCOTICS REHABILITATION VALSS.N

en chairman of the commission: I am a psychia seved the narcotics program for about 3 years under th

De William Swanson. Dr. Swanson is a sociologist ve esser of sociology of the Medical School in Tulane ex soch me by the Governor of the State of Louisiana ets commission.

s Mr. Edward Alderette. Mr. Alderette is a social eet codirector of a narcotic rehabilitation program at

and effective July 1 of this year he is executive Louisiana Narcotics Rehabilitation Commission. en report which we have submitted to you, but I o go through this and read it to you because it

we wil put it in the record, without objection, and

eave your comments. Sly, there is a lot of activity going on in Louisiana,

rish area, in the field of narcotic rehabilitation. sounded by law in May of 1968. The Governor ooher people to be members of this commission

. We received our first appropriation, a rather NON OF 1970,

eceived an appropriation of $79,000 and will eople.

of flurry and activity in the field of naretal programs, one under the auspices of A comprehensive.

Department of Psychiatry, will address rough.

Louisiana must be registered w

a treatment program.

The central regiante me I th

being enrolled in two tinies

rehabilitation efforts.

Secondly, we have two clinical also operamos dévers t whose full time will be devoted to observing and helping the metadone clinics, observing the methaize dis ni

administrative procedures are sound, sinising them be they are not, helping them if possible.

I think this will, to a great extent, minimize leakage and I t will protect the clinics and their patients.

Dr. Swanson, do you want to say anything!

STATEMENT OF DR. WILLIAM C. SWANSON

Dr. SWANSON. Well, I think in terms of the commission and seeing it pretty much from the commission's point of view and having dealt with the problem of narcotics addiction for the last 5 years or so, that one big problem, and I think it stems greatly from the nature of narcotics addiction, getting the person detoxified, as Mr. Wright was going through today, is not the biggest problem. You know that.

The biggest problem in rehabilitating the addict, is changing his life style. Because of the kind of life style they are forced by addiction to adopt, it becomes very, very difficult to deal with the addiction problem through a multiplicity of agencies, and I think that one thing that a State agency like the narcotics rehabilitation commission could do and should do is to begin to centralize information about addicts so that it makes it more difficult for the addict and easier for us, as peo

3

516

ple who want to rehabilitate the addict, to control the problem, so that diversion in minimized and that an addict cannot go from one clinic to another, for example, and get a double dose of methadone. This sort of thing.

I think that it was Mr. Hastings who asked about civil commitment. I am not sure. I think that we could have-I disagree a little bit with Dr. Jaffe civil commitment types of programs alongside of voluntary programs. We already have the NARA Act of 1966, and I think this is working well; and the program at Tulane that Dr. Heath will talk about is functioning in New Orleans alongside with other voluntary programs. So we could have additional types of civil commitment, perhaps two methadone programs of one type or another. That is one thing I wanted to say.

That is my full statement.

Mr. ROGERS. Would you like to make a statement, Mr. Alderette?

STATEMENT OF EDWARD ALDERETTE

Mr. ALDERETTE. Yes, Mr. Chairman. I noticed this morning that all the reports have been concerned with hard drugs, and although I admit that is a big problem and that is one of the major areas that our commission will be addressing itself to, I think it is important to point out. too, though, that we should have equal emphasis on the problem of soft drugs.

If you notice, this morning we don't have any figures to present to you on the extent of the soft drug problem. We don't have any programs to tell you about, as far as the soft-drug problem is concerned. We have nothing about educational activities, educational training programs, and I think this is a very important area that we will need expertise to get into, the medical profession, legal, the department of hospitals, the department of education.

It is the intention of this commission to get into the hard-drug problem and all of the things that have been discussed here this morning, but also to get into the soft-drug problem, first of all to determine the needs and then to try to figure out what kinds of different, specialized programs will be needed to handle that area.

(The statement of the Louisiana Narcotics Rehabilitation Commission follows:)

STATEMENT OF THE LOUISIANA NARCOTICS REHABILITATION COMMISSION

(C. B. Scrignar, M.D.,* William C. Swanson, Ph. D.**)

Drug addiction is one of the most salient and most talked about problems in America today. Hardly a day passes that one does not hear through the mass media about the increasing use and abuse of drugs of all types. There have been massive efforts to combat the problem ranging from the enactment of repressive laws to improved medical care and from border blockades to educational programs. The State of Louisiana has shared in this sometimes frenetic actvity but has done so with reason and an unusual clarity of purpose.

The nature and extent of heroin addiction in Louisiana and especially in New Orleans, the state's largest city, was not fully appreciated until 1968. At that

Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Director, Social Psychiatry, Tulane University School of Medicine; Chairman, Louisiana Narcotics Rehabilitation Commission. **Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (Sociology), Tulane University School of Medicine: Member. Louisiana Narcotics Rehabilitation Commission.

Seriguar, C. B: Narcotics Addiction-An Insurmountable Problem? The Municipal Court Recici. Vol. VII: No. 3, 14-18, (December) 1967.