Regretfully, instead of increasing our appropriations for the training of such scientists-known as pharmacologists-those expert with drug action, use and abuse-the training programs of the National Institutes of Health for college graduates are being phased out.

This is ridiculous. These programs should be greatly increased for such training, by offering fellowships and tuition-free studies. Only about 100 Ph.D.'s in pharmacology are granted in this country annually. This smaller number is all we have to cope with this momentous problem of drug-use testing, abuse, and other areas such as toxicology. The burgeoning problem of drug abuse calls for-among many other things-vast expert training programs in pharmacology and related sciences.

To meet the challenge of GI addiction four measures, to my knowledge. have been introduced in the House. I would like to address myself to my own proposal, the Armed Forces Narcotics Control Act of 1971, which deals with the rehabilitation of addicted servicemen. I would like to submit a copy of this bill for the committee's record.

The thrust of the legislation is to make the identification, treatment and rehabilitation of GI addicts a mandatory obligation of the armed forces.

A key feature of the bill would provide that servicemen be required to take tests, urinalysis or other scientifically developed means, to identify addiction and that such tests begin at least six months prior to discharge. Inasmuch as abstinence from drugs for 48 hours would preclude detection, the bill further requires repeated testing processes at unannounced times. Then once ascertained as a user, the serviceman would be required to go through the rehabilitation program.

The period of time the GI's cure takes would not be included within his military commitment and his length of service would be deferred until the obligation of active duty is fulfilled through a comparable extension beyond his original discharge date. This provision, I feel, would overcome the legal question of extended military service beyond the obligated period. Further, the requirement to defer discharges would serve as an effective deterrent to the taking of drugs. Too many GI's have taken the drug route as a means of being discharged from the service before their time is up and this bill, I believe, would prevent that.

Another feature of the bill would provide massive Federal assistance for non-profit agencies or institutions in the private sector to bring their facilities into the military's treatment and rehabilitation program in order to relieve the heavy load of GI addicts placed upon the Department of Defense. In addition, discharged addicts could be assisted by such federally-aided, qualified voluntary institutions to supplement VA and Public Health facilities.

There are many highly commendable agencies and institutions with the experience, expertise and capability to treat these men, but they would obviously need considerable assistance in order to carry out the proposed expanded responsibilities.

The bill would create an Armed Forces Narcotics Control Force in the Defense Department and a Narcotics Control Force in each branch of the armed services to combat drug abuse problems through three operational branches—education, rehabilitation, prevention and enforcement.

The proposal would also provide post-discharge programs for those exGI's who became addicted prior to the proposed new policy and for those servicemen who may later go back to the use of drugs. These facilities will be provided through treatment and rehabilitation centers which would be established through widely expanded VA programs, as well as through federally aided agencies and institutions.

Under the bill, no serviceman committed to the care of the rehabilitation force shall be tried for offenses regarding possession or use of drugs prior to receiving treatment. Veterans certified by the armed forces as having received treatment for drug addiction while on active duty will be eligible to receive hospitalization after their separation from active duty or discharge.

Mr. Chairman, I have many other recommendations, but for the limitations of time I respectfully submit them to the committee for its consideration I appreciate the privilege of appearing before you this morning and thank the distinguished Senators on this committee for the kind attention given to me.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY CONGRESSMAN SEYMOUR HALPERN

1. That the Department of Defense initiate a more rapid withdrawal of non-essential support troops from Vietnam. These men, seething with boredom and without a discernibile purpose are easily susceptible to drug usage. 2. That the Federal Government establish a new overall Agency combining the functions of many related agencies dealing with the drug problems, covering enforcement, education and rehabilitation.

3. That the Department of Defense require a study of existing rehabilitation programs to establish a data bank and reference point with which to measure the effectiveness of the programs. Currently there is no study which assesses the effectiveness of the some 18 programs currently in progress which could provide a clearer perspective on the motivation of the G.I. addict. 4. That the U.S. continue to impose the heaviest diplomatic pressure to bear on the government of South Vietnam to crack down on narcotics smuggling and trafficking within its territory, as well as on the governments of Thailand and Laos. These are the countries that are the sources of the raw opium from which the heroin that flows into Vietnam is derived.

5. That the Defense Department accelerate its policing programs to stem the flow of drugs in South Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.

6. That military and customs authorities accelerate the surveillance of mail and packages distributed through APO services. There should be a step-up in the development of scientific equipment to detect concealed heroin. 7. That a special fund on Enforcement and Investigation be established under an inter-agency committee to be chaired by the Director of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to provide additional enforcement agents in Vietnam and undertake investigations of charges of bribery and conspiracy of Vietnamese and Americans in customs processing.

8. That the identification, treatment, and rehabilitation of GI addicts be made a mandatory obligation of the Armed Forces.

9. That the V.A.'s drug treatment and rehabilitation program be accelerated. Presently, there are only five centers (100 beds) which the Veterans Administration has established to treat servicemen addicted on active duty. Funds should be authorized immediately to establish the projected 30 centers, Originally planned for completion by 1973.

10. That the Defense Department be authorized to enter into agreements with experienced private non-profit agencies and institutions for the treatment and rehabilitation of GI addicts to supplement and amplify its proram. These institutions would receive federal assistance commensurate with The size and character of the program.

11. That an Armed Forces Narcotics Control Force be established to cordinate and facilitate the exchange of information in the services. Also, hat individual narcotics control forces be established in each branch of he armed services to combat drug abuse problems through three operational ranches-education, rehabilitation, and prevention and enforcement.

12. That the V.A. be authorized to enter into agreement with qualified rivate non-profit agencies and institutions with the experience and expertise - supplement V.A. drug rehabilitation programs.

13. That the Department of Defense introduce repeated urinalysis tests of ductees to identify and counsel drug users before induction into the service. 14. That there be periodic unannounced scientific testing through urinalysis, r other accepted means, of members of the Armed Forces, to begin at least months prior to discharge but not limited to that period if special condions suggest the need for prior testing.

15. That funds be restored and increased for the training of pharmalogists-those expert with drug action, use, and abuse.

16. That a 1,000 bed rehabilitation center for servicemen as proposed by lyssey House be established as a pilot project. The purpose of this pro-am would be to provide care and treatment for drug users, to prevent e spread of addiction, to study the new phenomenon so that proper answers ad solutions can be found and to learn more about the motivation of service Edicts. Four complexes would be established, one for each service. Each mplex will be constituted of four units of approximately 60 people. Unit ze should not exceed 60 people or be less than 40. The program would include

the creation of Outreach Centers in the U.S. and abroad. These centers would have the responsibility to identify, counsel, and refer servicemen who have used or experimented with drugs.

Senator HUGHES. Thank you very much.

Your completed statements and all the matters you submitted for the record will be incorporated as part of the record.

Now, Congressman Murphy, if you would care

Senator JAVITS. Before you recognize Congressman Murphy, may I say that New York takes great pride in the very constructive. dedicated work done by Congressman Halpern in this very vital

matter.

Senator HUGHES. Thank you very much, Senator Javits.

STATEMENT OF HON. MORGAN F. MURPHY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

Mr. MURPHY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It is an honor to have been requested to appear before this subcommittee today, and I want to thank the committee for their invitation.

As you know, Congressman Steele and I just released a report on the world heroin problem. This report contains our recommendations, Mr. Chairman. We would be glad to submit it for the record.

Mr. Steele and I have our vials that we purchased in Vietnam with us, too, and we also have pictures. I am sure Mr. Steele and I would be glad to submit those.

There is no sense repeating all this testimony that you have just heard. I would like to mention, though, Mr. Chairman, that the program Mr. Steele and I found in Vietnam consisted of a four-point program dealing with the problems of rehabilitation and treatment by the armed services. That program consists of, (1) education, (2) amnesty, (3) rehabilitation, (4) suppression.

The education program has been expanded at all levels of the command where the consequences of drug abuse are stressed. There are also programs aimed at educating noncommissioned and commissioned officers in the detection and control of drug abuse in their units.

However, Mr. Steele and I feel that an educational program, in order to be effective, must stress the dangers inherent in the illegal use of drugs and the dangers it poses to the health and future of the users. It must be current, accurate, and hardhitting.

There has been criticism that material provided for use in Vietnam does not fit these requirements. According to one recognized authority, more use should be made of films which tell it like it is. These films should be kept up to date and should focus on the problem in South Vietnam.

Amnesty programs have been instituted. Basically, as we all know, amnesty is a promise of freedom from punishment in exchange for accepting medical treatment and rehabilitation. The important part of a rehabilitation program is the counseling received during the treatment period. But perhaps the most serious shortcoming of drug rehabilitation programs is that there is not a coordinated Vietnam

wide effort to establish a rehabilitation center. Responsibility is delegated to major commanders. Such commands support the effort fully. Some distrust the concept and take little or no interest in the program. Some still treat it as a crime, as reflected by Mr. Halpern's figures about the Marine Corps. They, in general, treat it and have treated it in the past as a disciplinary matter.

Mr. Chairman, I won't make this a long statement, but I would like to read for the committee one letter I received from a mother of a young man who just returned to Vietnam, and that will conclude my testimony.

Dear Sir:

My 24-year-old son enlisted in the Regular Army at 18, and spent over three and one-half years, of his two enlistments, in Vietnam as an Army medic. He returned to our home on March 8th after being processed through the above-named discharge center in 6 hours and was released with an honorable discharge and a certificate stating he was physically qualified for separation or for reenlistment within 3 months, etc. However, he came home addicted to heroin and entered the country carrying almost pure heroin with him.

On April 1, 1971, three weeks after his return home, the local police picked him up on suspicion and persuaded him to admit himself to the Veterans Administration Hospital under threat of arrest if he didn't go through their prescribed treatment. The hospital released him on April 27th to a local Day Top center for drug rehabilitation. After three weeks there under a 10-4 daily program, while residing here at home, he has refused to return there. The VA told me they have no place to send him for the further rehabilitation he needs, since Congress has appropriated no funds necessary to set up badly needed drug rehabilitation centers.

This should have been an Army problem, since they knew in Vietnam that he was on drugs. He spent 3 days in January in a hospital in Cam Ranh Bay and was told to return to his job and if he complained he would be arrested or could take a discharge. Now that he is out of service, the problem has been laid in the lap of the local civilian authorities and the VA, but first of all, me. As a lay person observing his actions, I'm convinced he needs further rehabilitation. I have two younger sons here at home for whom he is setting no example.

My son has been dehumanized and brutalized by what he has done and seen as an Army medic over three and one-half years in Vietnam. He was not a drug addict when he enlisted in the Army at 18. I feel the Army released him illegally and should bear the responsibility for it. They have shifted the burden to me, primarily, the one who will be sought out as he continues his aimless wandering. Surely this is not an isolated case, but it did happen and can happen again to many more American families. In light of the above, and in the best interest of the United States, I feel funds should be appropriated immediately for an emergency program to rehabilitate “a new kind of war casualty, the drug addict."

I would be interested in an answer from you as to what help can be expected from the United States government and what course of action you would suggest, if this were your son.

Trusting in the courtesy of a reply, I am,

I received hundreds of these letters, as has Mr. Steele, Mr. Chairnan. We are about to sponsor some legislation that not only proposes to treat the Army addict when he is in the service, but continue orolonged treatment or rehabilitation, if it takes a year or 2 years. or 3 years, stateside.

I think what we have to do is have a coordinated effort back in -ivilian life where 250,000 addicts are today. The media has stressed and concentrated on the problem in South Vietnam.

As you know, Mr. Chairman, under your capable leadership, this subcommittee has unearthed evidence that the problem is much greater here in civilian life in the United States. Legislation must treat both the Army addict and the civilians that are on our streets today, 250,000 of them.

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Steele and I have compiled this report which contains a lot of recommendations and facts that Mr. Halpern has testified to here today, and we would like to submit that report to this committee with your permission.

Senator HUGHES. It will be incorporated as part of the record. (The information referred to follows:)

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. MORGAN F. MURPHY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

Mr. Chairman:

It is an honor to have been requested to appear before the Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee I want to thank the Committee for this invitation.

As you know, Congressman Steele and I have just released a report on the "World Heroin Problem" which was based upon a round-the-world study mission which we conducted during the month of April. That report dealt with the heroin problem, both in the United States and in South Vietnam.

As the Committee is aware, drug abuse around the world is increasing Of particular concern is the alarming rise in the use of opium based drugs, particularly heroin, in the United States, and the rapid increase in heroin addiction within the United States military forces in South Vietnam where the problem of heroin addiction has reached epidemic proportions.

It is estimated that from 10 to 15 percent of all of our troops in South Vietnam are addicted to heroin. Based upon the current troop strength of slightly over 250,000, this means that between 25,000 and 37,500 United States servicemen are addicted to heroin. The estimate is probably conservative.

One senior commander told me that the rate of addiction in the lower enlisted grades, E-5 and below, is probably around 25%. It was also told that as many as 50 percent of all of our troops have experimented with heroin at one time or another.

Contributing to this epidemic use of heroin is its ready availability, the frustrations and boredom growing out of the war, the fact that the drug culture in the Armed Forces reflects American society as a whole, and be cause it is cheap.

Of the heroin users among U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam, it is estimated that between 40 and 45 percent sniff, 50 percent smoke, and between 5 and 10 percent inject, or mainline.

The heroin used in Southeast Asia is between 94 and 97 percent pure. Because of the high quality of this heroin those who become addicted in South Vietnam will have no alternative but to inject the much more diluted heroin which is available in the United States. The military services should, therefore, make every effort to detect and rehabilitate addicts before returning them to civilian society.

To do this, a concentrated effort must be made by the Department of Defense to improve its addict detection techniques. Once determined, the addict must be treated and rehabilitated.

This is one aspect of the problem which is of concern to military authorities in South Vietnam-they have no adequate and reliable procedures for detecting the heroin addict.

Measures must be taken to improve the reliability of addict detection procedures. If possible, the development of a simplified urinalysis test should become a matter of first priority for medical authorities. If this is not feasible, adequate laboratory facilities should be furnished down to battalion and squadron level. Every soldier should be required to undergo periodic urinalysis, especially before his return to the United States and