Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...
Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ... Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...
510(The following letter was received for the record :)[Exhibit No. 19]Department of Agriculture,Office of the Secretary,Washington, B.C., July 23, 1971.Hon. Claude Pepper,Chairman, Select Committee on Crime,House of Representatives.Dear Mr. Chairman: Tiiis is in reply to your letter of June 29, requestinginformation on plant sources of the alkaloid thebaine. We are pleased to learnthat thebaine may prove to be a useful antagonist to heroin and its effects on thehuman body.As far as can be determined, thebaine occurs only in species of the genus Papaver(poppies). The Great Scarlet Poppy (P. bracteatum), the Oriental Poppy(P. orientale), the Corn Poppy (P. rhoeas), and the Opium Poppy (P. somniferiim)all contain thebaine in amounts varying from several tenths of 1 percent to over4 percent of the air-dried milky exudate. All of these poppies have been grown inparts of the United States. The Corn Poppy and the Oriental Poppy are populargarden ornamentals.This Department has no research underway on these plants as sources ofthebaine. Adequate seed supplies are available for experimental plantings. Shouldmedical evaluation indicate an expanded need for thebaine we would be pleasedto undertake production research on the source plants.Information from the literature indicates that thebaine is much less narcoticthan morphine but in large doses may produce convulsions and damage toperipheral motor nerves in laboratory animals. Perhaps recent pharmacologicalresearch has established safe dose regimens. If so, we could not find literaturereferences to this effect. We have no basis for judging the potential effectivenessand usefulness of thebaine in the fight against drug abuse.Please be assured that this Department stands ready to assist your committeein any way possible.Sincerely,N. D. Baylky,Director of Science and Education.Chairman Pepper. Proceed, Doctor.Dr. KuRLAND. I will be brief. I suppose I will summate my positionat this point.We have a very useful agent here. It has come out of the laboratories,in this particular case out of the Endo Laboratories. They have beenconfronted with a number of difficulties in utilizing these compoundsbut they have— as you have heard Dr. Villarreal indicate that there areother comi)ounds available—and we have learned how to use thesemore effectively. We have also learned about the patterns by whichindividuals use drugs.Chairman Pepper. Doctor, did these two gentlemen or any other ofthe people with whom you work have any side effects that wereinjurious from taking the naloxone?Dr. KuRLAND. Every drug has some side effects. The side effects wenoted in these particular patients are based on the 75 that we haveevaluated over this 20-month period. Some of the patients will complain,for example, of a loss of api)etite for a period of time or theywill complain of feeling somewhat dizzy or—we have noticed in oneor two patients—they have complained of nosebleeds, but this has beenthe most serious finding we liavc run into and I do not know whetherthis is really due to the drug j)er se, because these individuals, j^oumust remember, may be taking other drugs from time to time.
511Chairman Pepper. Has the Food and Drug Admmistration ap-|)roved the use of naloxone?Dr. KuRLAND. It has only recently released this drug specifically asan antidote for morphine or opiate poisoning, but not for an agentthe way we are using it. This is only on an experimental basis.Chairman Pepper. Not for maintenance?Dr. KuRLAND. No.Chairman Pepper. Thank you. Go right ahead.Dr. KuRLAND. In my opinion, I would like to recommend to thiscommittee that they give very strong consideration to developing themeans for making this drug more available and to establish a highpriority research group to specifically take this material and exploreit as actively and as aggressively as they can clinically.Chairman Pepper. Doctor, I would like to ask each of the gentlemenwith you, would each of you j)lease tell us what caused you tovolunteer for Dr. Kurland's ])rogram?Mr. McCoy. Well, sir, mainly 1 wanted freedom out of the institution.When I was first offered the i)ossibility of making parole ifI were to join some type of self-help j)rogram which would encourageme to stay away from drugs I said, well, I will take the chance on it,because while in the institution, I was instrumental in organizing aself-help organization down at the ]Maryland House of Corrections,which has been fundamental in getting quite a few addicts back onthe road to the right type of life, and I saw this as a stepping stonetow^ard helping myself, so I made plans of that nature.Chairman Pepper. What would the other gentleman say?Mr. Taylor. I was in Hagerstown and through a therapy group,my classification officer, we talked about it. I did not really want toget on the program but after discussing it, I found it would be thebest thing and I went on through with it and it is coming along prettygood. I feel that I really enjoy it. I enjoy most of all the therapy.Chairman Pepper. One other question of you gentlemen. We haveheard stories that heroin and other drugs are available for inmates incorrectional or penal institutions. Were drugs procurable in the institutionsin which you gentlemen Avere confined?Mr. McCoy. Yes, sir; to a very high degree. It was to a very highdegree.Mr. Taylor. To a small extent in Hagerstown; yes.Dr. KuRLAND. I w^ould just like to add one more comment to thediscussion on naloxone.The thing that also intrigued us about this particular compound isthat it may be very useful in the younger addict for whom there is alot of concern about putting him on a drug such as methadone, andthis is also one of the factors that directed our attention to it earlyin our investigation.Chairman Pepper. Mr. Steiger.Mr. Steiger. Thank you, Mr. Chaii-man.Mr. McCoy, I gather from Dr. Kurland's remarks and yours, thatonce you got on this program, you checked in, at least for a certainperiod of time, on a daily basis into the clinic and among other things,you had a urine test and then they talked to you. Is that the way thatworked?
- Page 479 and 480: 459\\ e are basically saying, in or
- Page 481 and 482: —;461that this is the extent to w
- Page 483 and 484: 463We could go into the drug area a
- Page 485 and 486: .465program that was i)ut into Jack
- Page 487 and 488: 467Mr. Brasco. Possibly. However, w
- Page 489 and 490: 469him, arrange to get somebody els
- Page 491 and 492: 471ainpheta.mines, or barbiturates.
- Page 493 and 494: 473In the meantime, the Institute d
- Page 495 and 496: 475treated in the community centers
- Page 497 and 498: 477research on narcotics in the sam
- Page 499 and 500: 479c 53 03E
- Page 501 and 502: NARCOTICS RESEARCH, REHABILITATION,
- Page 503 and 504: 483spending for research through NI
- Page 505 and 506: 485There has been no concerted seri
- Page 507 and 508: 487it is left in one of their veins
- Page 509 and 510: 489I do not think I should explain
- Page 511 and 512: 491Dr. ViLLARREAL. Until the reflex
- Page 513 and 514: 493evidence strongly shows is that
- Page 515 and 516: 495Chairman Pepper. One other quest
- Page 517 and 518: 497Dr. ViLLARREAL. So, it is a biol
- Page 519 and 520: '.499could result in a laboratory s
- Page 521 and 522: 5qifinds it in normal exploration.
- Page 523 and 524: 503synthesized a large number of na
- Page 525 and 526: 505STATEMENT OE DR. ALBERT KURLAND,
- Page 527 and 528: 507discovered if we iiad taken the
- Page 529: 509Mr. Perito. Dr. Kurland, do you
- Page 533 and 534: 513]Mr. Steiger. Do you feel from y
- Page 535 and 536: 515In this second study there was a
- Page 537 and 538: 517were any significant differences
- Page 539: 519The Deceptive Communication and
- Page 542 and 543: .522than a State psychiatric hospit
- Page 544 and 545: 524Department of Mental Hygiene), R
- Page 546 and 547: TABLE 3—COMPARISON OF THE 1ST POS
- Page 548 and 549: 528TABLE 10—RELATIONSHIP OF AGE T
- Page 550 and 551: 530tution and his involvement in th
- Page 552 and 553: Attachment No. 5;r\ N-CH,-CH=CHo ,
- Page 554 and 555: '-534Chart No. U (case No. 672)Disp
- Page 556 and 557: 536Chart No. 4 (case No. 694)Illust
- Page 558 and 559: 538Chart No. 35 {case No. 697)Excep
- Page 560 and 561: 540This amount of heroin is roughly
- Page 562 and 563: 5msuccessful or not in that short a
- Page 564 and 565: 544Chairman Pepper. Would you repea
- Page 566 and 567: 54^creased amount of licit as well
- Page 568 and 569: —54Sand the bureaucracy and the a
- Page 570 and 571: ,,Mr.550you have used some of the s
- Page 572 and 573: 552so many areas is also a pitiful
- Page 574 and 575: 55,4nitiide of heroin addiction in
- Page 576 and 577: 556reached $976.5 billion, we can w
- Page 578 and 579: 558Mr. Jones was appointed to the c
510(The following letter was received for the record :)[Exhibit No. 19]Department of Agriculture,Office of the Secretary,Washington, B.C., July 23, 1971.Hon. Claude Pepper,Chairman, Select Committee on Crime,House of Representatives.Dear Mr. Chairman: Tiiis is in reply to your letter of June 29, requestinginformation on plant sources of the alkaloid thebaine. We are pleased to learnthat thebaine may prove to be a useful antagonist to heroin <strong>and</strong> its effects on thehuman body.As far as can be determined, thebaine occurs only in species of the genus Papaver(poppies). The Great Scarlet Poppy (P. bracteatum), the Oriental Poppy(P. orientale), the Corn Poppy (P. rhoeas), <strong>and</strong> the Opium Poppy (P. somniferiim)all contain thebaine in amounts varying from several tenths of 1 percent to over4 percent of the air-dried milky exudate. All of these poppies have been grown inparts of the United States. The Corn Poppy <strong>and</strong> the Oriental Poppy are populargarden ornamentals.This Department has no <strong>research</strong> underway on these plants as sources ofthebaine. Adequate seed supplies are available for experimental plantings. Shouldmedical evaluation indicate an exp<strong>and</strong>ed need for thebaine we would be pleasedto undertake production <strong>research</strong> on the source plants.Information from the literature indicates that thebaine is much less narcoticthan morphine but in large doses may produce convulsions <strong>and</strong> damage toperipheral motor nerves in laboratory animals. Perhaps recent pharmacological<strong>research</strong> has established safe dose regimens. If so, we could not find literaturereferences to this effect. We have no basis for judging the potential effectiveness<strong>and</strong> usefulness of thebaine in the fight against drug abuse.Please be assured that this Department st<strong>and</strong>s ready to assist your committeein any way possible.Sincerely,N. D. Baylky,Director of Science <strong>and</strong> Education.Chairman Pepper. Proceed, Doctor.Dr. KuRLAND. I will be brief. I suppose I will summate my positionat this point.We have a very useful agent here. It has come out of the laboratories,in this particular case out of the Endo Laboratories. They have beenconfronted with a number of difficulties in utilizing these compoundsbut they have— as you have heard Dr. Villarreal indicate that there areother comi)ounds available—<strong>and</strong> we have learned how to use thesemore effectively. We have also learned about the patterns by whichindividuals use drugs.Chairman Pepper. Doctor, did these two gentlemen or any other ofthe people with whom you work have any side effects that wereinjurious from taking the naloxone?Dr. KuRLAND. Every drug has some side effects. The side effects wenoted in these particular patients are based on the 75 that we haveevaluated over this 20-month period. Some of the patients will complain,for example, of a loss of api)etite for a period of time or theywill complain of feeling somewhat dizzy or—we have noticed in oneor two patients—they have complained of nosebleeds, but this has beenthe most serious finding we liavc run into <strong>and</strong> I do not know whetherthis is really due to the drug j)er se, because these individuals, j^oumust remember, may be taking other drugs from time to time.
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