Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...
Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ... Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...
544Chairman Pepper. Would you repeat that statement, Doctor?"That last statement.Dr. Resnick. I would suggest and recommend the distribution ofcyclazocine to all soldiers in these narcotic endemic zones as a means ofeffectively curtailing this epidemic of addiction in a fashion similar toour use of atabrine for malaria during World War II.In November of 1970, a 1-year contract in the amount of $66,000to develop such a long-acting formulation was granted to the Foodand Drug Research Laboratories of Maspeth, N.Y., by the departmentof psychiatry of the New York Medical College with funds fromthe New York State Narcotic Addiction Control Commission. Thiscontract has focused on naloxone rather than on cyclazocine, naloxonebeing a compound which is more potently effective in antagonizingopiate effects and also which is free of any toxic effects. Unfortunately,however, additional funds are not currently available.The only other study of a long-acting formulation that I am awarethat of Seymour YoUes at the University of Delaware and hisof iswork is impeded by some nontechnical problems.Another narcotic antagonist which I believe you have already heardabout, M-5050, which has been tested only in animal studies, has beenshown to be between eight and 16 times more effective in its narcoticblocking capacity as naloxone and also is free of any toxic effects. Thiscompound was tested in England and funds for its continued studyin the United States are not available.Chairman Pepper. Doctor, you are telling us the shocking storythat three of the drugs which seem to hold the greatest promise ofbeing antagonistic drugs or immunizing drugs or blockage drugs, inrespect to their longer duration, are the subject of insignificant expenditurefor research?Dr. Resnick. Yes.Chairman Pepper. And here we are dealing with a problem of themagnitude in terms of lives and money and ruined careers andcriminal acts, et cetera, deriving from this problem of heroin. It isshocking to hear a man of your knowledge and repute to have to makesuch a statement as that. I wonder what has happened to our countrythat we have ignored the scientific communit}' instead of stimulatingthem to try to do something effective about it. It looks like we would\)e out looking for you and Dr. Yolles and others who are workingin these fields and telling 3^ou, for goodness sake, hurry up and try tosave more lives and do more about this problem.Dr. Resnick. I agree.Mr. Murphy. Mr. Chairman?Chairman Pepper. Yes, Mr. Murphy.Mr. Murphy. Doctor, have jou made any attempt to bring thistestimony j^ou are giving today to the attention of the medical authoritiesof the U.S. military forces?Dr. Resnick. No. This has not been done because these reportsabout the epidemic of addiction in Vietnam are very recent reports.Mr. Murphy. They are recent reports as far as we are concernedhere in the United States, but the Army has known about the cpiilemieproportions.Dr. Resnick. I did not know about it.
545Mr. Murphy. Well, nobody from the Army has made an attemptto contact you regardmg your studies?Dr. Resnick. No.Chan-man Pepper. Go ahead, Doctor.Dr. Resnick. Now, another reason for increased efforts at developingand supporting narcotic antagonists is our view that the presententhusiasm for the legal distribution of methadone or heroin isreally a doubtful long-range solution and canChairman Pepper. Doctor, I am sorry. I want to interrupt youthere. We saw in the paper the other day that one of the members ofthe New York commission or authorities had suggested that heroin bemade available as a maintenance drug for the addicts of heroin. Andone of our members, Mr. Rangel, made some public comment aboutthis. And others, some of my colleagues in the House, have suggestedthat this committee should recommend that heroin addicts be providedthe necessary herom in a lawful manner without expense tothem throughout this country.Would you for the record, give us the benefit of your opinion onthis suggestion?Dr. Resnick. My personal opinion is that it is very doubtful thatthis is going to be a helpful solution to the problem. My personalopinion also is that it is likely to create more problems than it isgoing to solve.However, as a scientist, I would certainly be willing to support ina ver}^ limited way a stud}^ of that approach in order to be able toreally test whether or not it is helpful, it is harmful, or it has no effectat all. I do not like to sit back in my armchair and have preconceivedopinions that really have not been tested out. 1 doubt it personally,but 1 certainly would have no objection to it being tried under closeresearch medical auspices and supervision.Chairman Pepper. Are you famihar with the British program?Dr. Resnick. I have heard about it, yes; and I have also heard thatit has aggravated their problem, that it has made it worse, but I donot know the details of the British program and I do not know howany program of a research nature that might be implemented orstarted here could improve on it and perhaps have different results. Ijust do not know.I doubt it, but I am willing to try anything as long as it is donecarefully and under proper supervision.Chairman Pepper. Is it not true that the heroin addict generallyrequires an increasing number of shots a day to satisfy the urge?Dr. Resnick. He requires an increasing number of shots a day inorder to continue to get the high. It reaches a certain point as withmethadone whereby he requires it only to feel normal, does not gethigh from it.Chairman Pepper. Go right ahead with your statement.Dr. Resnick. As I was saying, another reason for increased effortsat developing and supporting narcotic antagonists is our view that thepresent enthusiasm for the legal distribution of either methadone orheroin is really a doubtful long-range solution and can only be a temporaryexpedient at best. These maintenance schemes provide for anincrease in the number of addicted persons and an increase in thenumber of delivery centers. And we would expect that when thousandsof addicts inhabit the cities of this Nation, that there will be an in-
- 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 and 530: 509Mr. Perito. Dr. Kurland, do you
- Page 531 and 532: 511Chairman Pepper. Has the Food an
- 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 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
- Page 580 and 581: 560cant when you consider that Out
- Page 582 and 583: 562criminal act in his lifetime. Ye
- Page 584 and 585: —564Mr. Perito. Would it be fair
- Page 586 and 587: 566Now, Dr. Cliambers, can yon resp
- Page 588 and 589: —568Mr. Raxgel. Our distinguished
- Page 590 and 591: ;-570Mr. Jones. That is correct. Ou
- Page 592 and 593: 572the commissioner, $186 million i
- Page 594 and 595: 574there should be something in the
- Page 596 and 597: 576and the way in which the funds a
- Page 598 and 599: 57SDr. Chambers. I think wliat you
- Page 600 and 601: 580Education is the best way of pre
- Page 602 and 603: 58-2Certain essential facts must re
- Page 604 and 605: 584done through determined action,
- Page 606 and 607: 586druffs, has the Nation's largest
- Page 608 and 609: :588To repeat, methadone maintenanc
- Page 610 and 611: :590I believe the Federal Governmen
- Page 612 and 613: :take no such satisfaction. We have
544Chairman Pepper. Would you repeat that statement, Doctor?"That last statement.Dr. Resnick. I would suggest <strong>and</strong> recommend the distribution ofcyclazocine to all soldiers in these narcotic endemic zones as a means ofeffectively curtailing this epidemic of addiction in a fashion similar toour use of atabrine for malaria during World War II.In November of 1970, a 1-year contract in the amount of $66,000to develop such a long-acting formulation was granted to the Food<strong>and</strong> Drug Research Laboratories of Maspeth, N.Y., by the departmentof psychiatry of the New York Medical College with funds fromthe New York State Narcotic Addiction Control Commission. Thiscontract has focused on naloxone rather than on cyclazocine, naloxonebeing a compound which is more potently effective in antagonizingopiate effects <strong>and</strong> also which is free of any toxic effects. Unfortunately,however, additional funds are not currently available.The only other study of a long-acting formulation that I am awarethat of Seymour YoUes at the University of Delaware <strong>and</strong> hisof iswork is impeded by some nontechnical problems.Another narcotic antagonist which I believe you have already heardabout, M-5050, which has been tested only in animal studies, has beenshown to be between eight <strong>and</strong> 16 times more effective in its narcoticblocking capacity as naloxone <strong>and</strong> also is free of any toxic effects. Thiscompound was tested in Engl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> funds for its continued studyin the United States are not available.Chairman Pepper. Doctor, you are telling us the shocking storythat three of the drugs which seem to hold the greatest promise ofbeing antagonistic drugs or immunizing drugs or blockage drugs, inrespect to their longer duration, are the subject of insignificant expenditurefor <strong>research</strong>?Dr. Resnick. Yes.Chairman Pepper. And here we are dealing with a problem of themagnitude in terms of lives <strong>and</strong> money <strong>and</strong> ruined careers <strong>and</strong>criminal acts, et cetera, deriving from this problem of heroin. It isshocking to hear a man of your knowledge <strong>and</strong> repute to have to makesuch a statement as that. I wonder what has happened to our countrythat we have ignored the scientific communit}' instead of stimulatingthem to try to do something effective about it. It looks like we would\)e out looking for you <strong>and</strong> Dr. Yolles <strong>and</strong> others who are workingin these fields <strong>and</strong> telling 3^ou, for goodness sake, hurry up <strong>and</strong> try tosave more lives <strong>and</strong> do more about this problem.Dr. Resnick. I agree.Mr. Murphy. Mr. Chairman?Chairman Pepper. Yes, Mr. Murphy.Mr. Murphy. Doctor, have jou made any attempt to bring thistestimony j^ou are giving today to the attention of the medical authoritiesof the U.S. military forces?Dr. Resnick. No. This has not been done because these reportsabout the epidemic of addiction in Vietnam are very recent reports.Mr. Murphy. They are recent reports as far as we are concernedhere in the United States, but the Army has known about the cpiilemieproportions.Dr. Resnick. I did not know about it.
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