Although the overt purpose is not to prohibit drug use, the students make a special effort to thoroughly reveal the irrational nature of this behavior. The program at the University of Connecticut was composed of 44 visits during the school year 1970-71 by from 4-10 students each. There was no compensation for this labor. An additional program by the School of Pharmacy is conducted in the campus community. A two-credit course entitled "Elements of Drug Use" is available, without prerequisite, to all students in the University. This course, taught by a young and youthful instructor, provides elementary and accurate information about drug action and toxicity and concludes with the drug abuse problem. This service course is always oversubscribed and is utilized as an elective for students in education, physical education, and by majors in family relations and child development. It, however, attracts students from all areas. This course is under constant evaluation, and changes in content and manner of presentation have been numerous. Information obtained in this way is used in the pharmacy student program to the high schools. YOUTH ASPECTS AND TRUST The best form of drug education seems to occur through peer association. The college sophmore has little reason to distrust another college student or youthful instructor. The high school student does not question the motives of a college student. Our program takes advantage of this inherent trust of one's peers we have been unsuccessful in any departure from this philosophy. PHARMACISTS IN THE MILITARY AS DRUG ABUSE SPECIALISTS Major emphasis on the drug abuse problem in the military has been on enforcement. Very little effort has been directed to programs of education. Education is one of the important keys to prevention and programs of eduaction must be provided. It is essential that the service man be educated about the physiological and toxicological implications of drug misuse. In the emerging programs that focus on education of military personnel, the pharmacist is an essential component of the educational team. With five or six years of education that is centered on the physical-chemical properties, the pharmacological action and the toxicology of drugs, and with an understanding of people and disease, he has an expertise that is unique and effective and one that will complement psychological, sociological and other medical contributions to the program. His skill and intellect can be utilized at all levels in an educational program. Moreover, because of his background in analysis of drugs, he could serve on programs concerned with detection of drugs. The pharmacist is the only health professional whose exclusive specialization is drugs and their action-including drugs of abuse. Few pharmacist are given commissions, and no pharmacists have ever been drafted. The Department of Defense must be informed of the needs of our servicemen with regard to adequate drug delivery services and the utilization of the pharmacist as a component of a health education team concerned with drug misuse. ATTACHMENT C STATEMENT PREPARED BY GEORGE P. HAGER, DEAN, SCHOOL OF PHARMACY, THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA The abusive use of drugs in the Armed Forces, as elsewhere, is a many-faceted problem which requires a multilateral solution involving various types of professionals and specialists in the Military. Crisis intervention and treatment constitute a medical problem and require the supervision and services of physicians. Behavioral scientists should be primarily responsible for rehabilitation. Prevention and control of drug abuse, involving both education and regulatory procedures is a principal and, perhaps, most productive measure for dealing with the drug abuse problem. The pharmacist should have primary responsibility for the education phase and, in the control phase, he should work very closely with legal and police personnel and he should consult regularly with physicians regarding prescribing practices that may predispose toward abusive utilization. The pharmacist is qualified for a leading role in prevention and control of drug abuse for a number of reasons: (1) the nature of his drug distributive mission requiring his surveillance of the utilization of many controlled substances and providing to him an insight into developing drug abuse problems at an early stage; (2) his education (B.S. in Pharmacy) and his daily experience with drugs; and, perhaps, most importantly (3) his sensitivity to the drug abuse problem and his motivation to contribute toward its solution. The pharmacist's motivation is clearly demonstrated by the active involvement of schools of pharmacy and of practicing pharmacists at the local level in efforts aimed at the relief of the problem. One specific example will be presented as an indication of the general situation. At the end of the academic year, 1968-69; under the aegis of the local Student Branch of the American Pharmaceutical Association, a group of twenty upper classmen in the School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina, indicated a desire to engage in a drug abuse education program during the following year. A carefully selected compilation of drug abuse information materials was given to each of them for study during the summer. During the first six weeks of the fall semester, 1969, seventeen of the students were provided intensive training by experts on the drug abuse problem. Through the remainder of the year, 1969-1970, the specially trained students, usually in small groups, made 65 presentations throughout the State and reached substantial numbers of junior and senior high school students. At a meeting of the heads of various State departments in the spring of 1970, the official representing the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction stated that the pharmacy students' project at that time was the principal thrust in the secondary schools toward preventive education of secondary school students in the area of drug abuse. Because of this experience. the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction requested the School of Pharmacy to provide an intensive training program for a cadre of secondary school personnel in the summer of 1970 and also requested that speciallytrained pharmacy students make presentations at all of the 500 secondary schools in North Carolina. A DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROGRAM, including a TEACHER DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT and a STUDENT-TOSTUDENT DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT, was planned as a comperative effort of the School of Pharmacy, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, and the N.C. Pharmaceutical Association. Support for the PROGRAM was provided by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Partial support of the TEACHER DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT also came from a grant to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction via the National Drug Education Training Program. During the summer of 1970, three week-long training programs were held at the School of Pharmacy and they were attended by a total of 173 teachers, counselors, principals, and other administrative personnel, representing almost every school district in the State. A copy of the program appears in APPENDIX A and a copy of "Proceedings-Teacher Drug Abuse Education Project" accompanies this statement. During the academic year, 1970-1971, approximately seventy specially-trained pharmacy students made presentations at 225 secondary schools and reached approximately 55,000 secondary school students (APPENDIX B). The effectiveness of this STUDENT-TO-STUDENT DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT is attested by numerous comments of the personnel in the secondary schools visited. A feature of the presentations was a question-and-answer period in which student audiences submitted many of the questions in writing. Some of these have been compiled in the booklet, “Kids 'n Drugs" by Leonard Berlow, the faculty director of the PROJECT (A copy accompanies this statement). Mr. Jessee M. Pike, Jr., as student director of the PROJECT, worked closely with Mr. Berlow. In June, 1971, a day and a half program was presented in three locations in different parts of the State for secondary school personnel as a follow-up on last summer's TEACHER DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT (program appears in APPENDIX C). At the follow-up program, attended by a total of 145 teachers, etc., secondary school personnel described local programs in which they were intimately involved pursuant to their training in the summer of 1970. What they have accomplished indicates the effectiveness of the TEACHER DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT. The 1971-1972 STUDENT-TO-STUDENT DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT is already underway with more than fifty pharmacy students involved at this stage. The foregoing description of the DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROGRAM is an example of similar programs conducted by other schools of pharmacy. It demonstrates the sensitivity of the pharmacy profession for the drug abuse program and the motivation, in the pharmacy profession, to prevent drug abuse through education. The pharmacy student participants, as they graduate, will swell the ranks of the many pharmacists already in practice who are most active in the education of the people in the communities they serve as a measure toward prevention of drug abuse. The same motivation of military pharmacists to engage in educational activities that help to prevent drug abuse is exemplified by a presentation by Captain Dean L. Peyton (pharmacy officer at USAF Medical Center, Scott AFB) and Captain David R. Stevenson (pharmacy officer at 317 Tac Hospital, Lockbourne AFB). A copy of their manuscript, "Better Living Through Chemistry", presented at the 1971 USAF Pharmacy Seminar, Brooks AFB, is attached. Crisis intervention, treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention through educa tion and control require collaboration of physicians, behavioral scientists, legal and regulatory personnel and pharmacists,-with the fully trained, professional pharmacist leading the way with regard to preventive measures. An assessment of the drug abuse problem locally and an evaluation of relief measures is a component of the program that is often neglected. Accurate assessment of the problem and evaluation of effectiveness would confirm the pharmacist's leadership role in dealing with the drug abuse problem in the Armed Forces provided military pharmacists, fully qualified by professional education in schools of pharmacy and by the experience (internship) required for licensure are given the opportunity to demonstrate what they can do. AMERICAN NURSES' ASSOCIATION, INC., New York, N.Y., June 28, 1971. Hon. PAUL ROGERS, DEAR MR. ROGERS: The American Nurses' Association, the professional organization of registered nurses, wishes to express its strong support of efforts to attack the critical problem of drug abuse which has become a matter of grave concern in this country. The causes of drug abuse are linked with the ills of society as a whole. Addiction is a health and social issue that requires rehabilitation measures rather than the punitive approach, the pattern that has commonly been employed in dealing with the addict. The nursing profession is committed historically to enlighten and compassionate care of those who suffer physically and emotionally. By the very nature of their work and the many settings in which they function, nurses are much involved in the drug abuse problem. Therefore, this association supports legislation which would focus on drug abuse as a health and social issue. We believe that efforts must be made to separate fact from fallacy about drugs and that programs of public education should be based on the facts and not the assumptions that result in a credibility gap and have the effect of encouraging experimentation with drugs, especially by the young. We would point out, also, that the present substitutes for opium and opium derivatives-demerol, dilaudid, methadone are just as addicting as opium. Methadone maintenance programs which have offered a degree of hope for heroin addicts may well be just a stop gap and temporary solution and further investigation into the long term consequences of this approach is essential. Concomitantly, ways and means of assisting people to withdraw from methadone should be initiated. Funding should be available for drug education programs for children, adolescents, adults and those professionals concerned with resolving the drug abuse problem; for treatment programs that take into account not only the physical effects of withdrawal but acknowledge also the psycho-social dependence on drugs that can be more difficult to cope with; for assistance to help former addicts resume their education or secure job training so they may become productive members of society. Government also has the responsibility for assuring through appropriate legislation that other requirements for physical, mental and social well being such as adequate income, housing and nutrition are met. The American Nurses' Association has submitted to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare for funding a project to enhance the contribution of professional nurses in the field of drug abuse. Curriculum guidelines would be developed for use by educators in basic nursing programs, graduate programs and continuing education programs for practicing nurses. Nursing, as the largest of the health professions, does have the potential to be a strong and positive force in combating drug abuse and treating drug addiction. The American Nurses' Association has been committed by its membership to help nurses realize this potential. The following resolution was adopted at the association's 1970 convention in Miami Beach, Florida. Whereas the Federal Bureau of Narcotics reported 64,000 known narcotic users in the United States on December 31, 1968, the projected figure is now 132,000, and the number of experiments with mind altering drugs is unknown; and Whereas its causes are inextricably linked with the ills of society as a whole, and its prevention and cure must be seen as an individual as well as a professional responsibility; and Whereas there is increasing recognition of the fact that addiction is a health and social issue requiring rehabilitation rather than punitive measures; and Whereas, the challenge in this pioneering period of seeking preventive and therapeutic approaches to this critical issue necessitates that nurses educate themselves about the problem and keep sensitive to the suffering of the drug abuser: Therefore, be it Resolved, That ANA work at all levels to help develop, collate, and disseminate definitive educational materials on this issue to nurse practitioners; and Resolved, That nurses seek out and work with related health groups in combating the problem, supporting comprehensive rehabilitation programs and provide effective leadership where none exists; and be it further Resolved, That nurses support legislation that approaches drug abuse as a health problem. I respectfully request that this letter be included in the record of your committees hearings on drug abuses. Sincerely yours, EILEEN M. JACOBI, R.N. Ed. D., Executive Director. NATIONAL GRANGE, Washington, D.C., June 28, 1971. Hon. PAUL G. ROGERS, Chairman, Subcommittee on Public Health and Environment, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The National Grange has been very deeply concerned over the widespread use of harmful drugs by children of pre-high school and high school age. Our public elementary and high schools have become the breeding grounds of the future drug addicts. Early in the '60's the Grange conducted discussions on the drug problem and what the Grange could do to assist in fighting the illegal use of drugs, marijuana, LSD and similar narcotics. These discussions were held in local, state and national Grange meetings and have resulted in the following policy position being adopted as National Grange policy. As a result of the study and investigation of the "National Grange Committee on Health" the Grange realized that drug use by young people had to be treated as an illness and that the main thrust for control of the use of illegal drugs must be to stop the traffic of drugs rather than to punish the user. The delegate body of the National Grange, meeting in its Annual Session in 1960, called for heavier penalties for those who deal in or "push" illegal drugs. "NARCOTICS" "Whereas, the peddling of narcotics to youth is increasing: Therefore be it "Resolved, That the Grange demand stronger laws and heavier penalties for first offenders and increased penalties for repeated offenses." Throughout the following years the National Grange has expressed its concern over the illegal use of drugs and has worked for stricter laws and regulation pertaining to the illegal use of such drugs. "USE OF NARCOTICS" "Whereas the punishment for the use of narcotics such as marijuana is being considred to be changed from a felony to a misdemeanor; and "Whereas, this will make a lesser punishment to a pusher; and "Whereas, this will create more pushers to further more people to become addicted to narcotics: Therefore be it "Resolved, That the Grange favors keeping the law a felony; and be it further "Resolved, That stricter laws be enacted and the punishment for a pusher and user be more severe and better administered; and be it further "Resolved, That this resolution be for the use of LSD or any kind of drug that causes addiction, unless administered by a lifetime physician." In spite of increased efforts by law enforcement agencies at all levels of government, illegal drug traffic and their use by people of all ages is on the increase. The information on increased drug by members of our armed forces is indeed disheartening and adds a whole new extra dimension of human suffering to the cost of the war. We applaud the Administration's efforts in this and other areas of illegal drug use and enthusiastically support more activity by the Federal government. The National Grange, at its 104th Annual Session, held in November of 1970, adopted the following policy statement and resolutions pertaining to drug abuse: "There is an awareness of the widespread use of harmful and habit-forming drugs with special concern for the alarming number of youth using drugs out of curiosity or for other reasons and without the advice of a doctor. How tragic if numbers of fine young people should be coerced to try certain drugs just for a kick and subsequently became drug addicts. "We believe there should be a strong and effective deterrent to the sale and distribution of harmful and habit-forming drugs. There should be greater effort to destroy the sources of these drugs by providing necessary legislation and law enforcement and by diplomatic action when the source is beyond our national boundaries. "We realize that much is already being done to reduce drug traffic and we express appreciation to law enforcement agencies and to the State Department for their efforts. "We recommend that courses of study be included in the curriculum of elementary schools to inform our children of the dangers of using drugs that are not prescribed by a doctor. We urge all Grange members to use their influence to achieve this objective." "STOPPING DRUG TRAFFIC" "The National Grange (1) urges Subordinate Granges to educate its members and the public regarding dangers, symptoms and problems from drug use: (2) recommends congressional legislation to require impounding of all vehicles found in use in illegal drug traffic; increase the number of custom inspectors assigned to search for smuggled drugs; (3) requests intensified efforts by the government through diplomatic channels, to reduce production and export of “hard drugs" from foreign countries; (4) asks subordinate Granges to consider establishing "Halfway Houses" in their communities to assist rehabilitation of young addiets." "LSD AND MARIJUANA" "We favor outlawing LSD and marijuana on the same basis as heroin and other harmful or deadly drugs. We also favor action to eradicate the marijuana plant." The Grange is a family, fraternal, community farm organization with a deep sense of responsibility to God, country and the well-being of our fellow man. As such we recognize that drug abuse is the result of man's inability to relate himself to the society around him. In this respect, we all bear a portion of the blame for contributing to the increased drug problem. However, changing the values of man is a long, educational process and one in which we all must remain active, as this, in the long run, will be the real solution to the illegal use of drugs. In the meantime, all efforts should be used to prevent the further increase of illegal drugs by people of all ages. We therefore support H.R. 9264 and similar bills to establish a Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention to concentrate the resources of the Nation in a crusade against drug abuse. We would appreciate this letter being made a part of the hearing record. Sincerely, JOHN W. SCOTT. Master. |