ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Articles, publications, etc.: NARB Aftercare Contract Agencies as of February 3, 1970-National "Position Statement on Drug Abuse and the Need To Separate Medical Seasonal TV Programs Aired on Drugs and Their Use____. Hughes, Hon. Harold E., U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa, chairman, Special Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., from Tom McCall, governor, Salem, Oreg., March 20, 1970- Page 343 262 299 248 358 357 258 The editor, the New York Times, New York, N.Y., from S. E. Luria, 342 Tables: Community Based Treatment Facilities for Narcotic Addicts--- 297 260 Provisions of S. 3562-Comparable Available Authority 314 FEDERAL DRUG ABUSE AND DRUG DEPENDENCE PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND REHABILITATION ACT OF 1970 MONDAY, MARCH 16, 1970 U.S. SENATE, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON ALCOHOLISM AND NARCOTICS Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 9:00, pursuant to call, in room 4232, New Senate Office Building, Senator Harold E. Hughes (chairman of the special subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Hughes (presiding), Javits and Schweiker. Staff members present: Robert O. Harris, staff director; Wade Clarke, majority counsel; Jay B. Cutler, minority counsel, and Richard Spelts, minority counsel. Senator HUGHES. The subcommittee on alcoholism and narcotics will come to order. These hearings of the Special Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotics will be on S. 3562, Federal Drug Abuse and Drug Dependence Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Act of 1970. The March 16, 1970 issue of Time magazine carries a vivid, harrowing story on the mushrooming epidemic of heroin addiction among children and youth, entitled "Heroin Hits the Young." This is only one of the spate of reports in the media these days about the alarming growth in abuse of the hardest of the hard narcotics. Such news accounts point up the acute urgency for massive public action to meet the drug problem in our country-not next year or 5 years hence but now. It should be borne in mind that the Big H which has accounted for as many as 19 deaths in a single weekend in New York City, is only now one aspect of the vast, varied, and unimaginably complex anatomy of the drug problem, USA. This subcommittee has thus far conducted public hearings on abuse of drugs including the most widely used drug of all, alcohol-in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Denver, and Des Moines. Although there is widespread disagreement among medical professionals and public officials about the nature of the drug problem and what needs to be done to counteract it, it seems to me that there are certain basic facts that have been illuminated by our hearings and other information that has come to this subcommittee since its formation last year. These provide the foundation for the legislation under consideration today. First is the extreme urgency of the problem; second, its pervasiveness throughout the country; and third, its startlingly rapid growth. We have learned the problem is incredibly subtle and complexthat it changes rapidly from month to month and that it is hydra headed. Dr. Donald Louria, president of the New York State Council on Drug Addiction, states in the Time article to which I referred: We are seeing an era of multiple use of any and every kind of drug. And it is moving so fast that it is different this year from last year. I have become convinced from these hearings and my own research that bull-headed disagreement among some professionals in the competition for public funds has itself become one of the barriers to getting constructive action to meet the drug problem. Another big obstacle has been the fact that, while all of the informed people who are directing their attention to this problem admit that law enforcement alone will not control the growth of drug abuse and narcotics addiction, we are still acting, for the most part, as if it would. Sound laws and efficient enforcement are essential and not in any way inconsistent with the aims of S. 3562. But addiction is a sickness, not in itself a crime. We don't cure sick people by putting them in jail. We need to get at the core of the problem the addiction itself. This is the thrust of the legislation we are considering. I want to express my deep appreciation to the outstanding witnesses who are testifying today for rallying to the cause on short notice. I know you understand that we are pushing forward rapidly because the urgency is very great and the clock is running. Some of the witnesses we have heard before are with us again today. Your testimony was highly valuable to us before; we now solicit your informed views on specific legislative proposals. In order to conserve time and to avoid needless duplication of effort, the hearings today will be held on S. 3562, with the exception of titles IV and VI and sections 503 and 504 of title V. Those titles contain provisions which, when reported out of committee, will be rereferred to other committees of the Senate. Our aim is to take those provisions of the bill which are capable of moving the most rapidly and getting on with the work. Finally, I would like to make a few general observations about the bill which may serve to clarify our purpose. It seemed to me essential that in drafting this legislation, we should try to develop a complete and comprehensive chassis from which to work. As I previously pointed out, the drug scene is unbelievably farflung and many faceted, and it pervades all segments of our society. Heretofore, our legislative approach has been fragmentary and piecemeal. Present laws relating in one way or another to the drug problem are scattered and uncodified. To avoid confusion, a total approach seemed indicated. As a consequence, the bill under consideration is the most comprehensive and thorough legislation of its kind that has been thus far in troduced into the Congress. It incorporates many of the ideas which my colleagues have suggested in other pieces of legislation. I recognize that considerable work and modification will be performed upon the bill before final agreement is reached, but I believe we will have a suitable platform from which to work. It has been suggested by some that the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare already has much of the authority that is specifically provided in this bill. In a sense, this is true. The Public Health Act gives the Government the authority, in general terms, to act in areas of public health. But S. 3562 spells out that authority in specific terms as well as providing additional authority the Department does not now have. To implement this authority the bill would create a new "Administration" primarily for these reasons: (1) To give the drug area the importance its urgency requires and a statutory visibility that in itself will demand action. (2) To provide for the Congress a vehicle that is sufficiently specific to facilitate oversight of the drug area but that is not too limited to cramp effective action. (3) To provide a broad range of tools which can be used in accordance with a plan which would be drawn up and carried out by an administrator to deal with the fast-changing nature of the problem and the application of new techniques. (4) To provide the status and priority to the program which I believe the American people and the Members of Congress are demanding. Two questions are left open by this bill-the funding and the specific location within the Government of the new administration. I recognize that by leaving this area open, an overlap is created with some existing laws. But this was done purposely in order to allow the determination of these important and pivotal points by the committee. The additional legislative details can be worked out when the committee determines the location of the new administration. In conclusion let me say that S. 3562 represents our attempt to mount an unprecedented, across the board, Federal attack, on a realistic dimension, to meet the malignant and rapidly growing drug problem in America at its source. We will never make any real headway until we get at the sickness itself through modern methods of treatment, rehabilitation, education, and prevention, adequately funded. Make no mistake about it. It will require mammoth effort and massive financial support that every realistic authority knows it must have. Considering the urgency of the drug crisis in this country, we can do no less if we are to keep faith with a worried Nation. Thus far, our efforts have been the equivalent of throwing a teacup of water on the Chicago fire. (The bill and section-by-section analysis follows:) . |