Subject: Narcotics (1951)

[Music] [Music] [Music] It is a symbol. A symbol of narcotic addiction is poisoning the blood of our country. >> And this is a result. >> A result? Yes. But it occurs when the addict is deprived of his narcotic. He is experiencing withdrawal symptoms. And if he can get his narcotic, >> he lives from fix to fix. And if he is lucky, he dies early. Maybe from an overdose, maybe from an infected needle. He lives from fix to fix. The addict must have his drug. And to get it, he must have money. And that much money comes hard. [Music] And this girl, the same, always the same. Vice feeds on Vice. And in the end, life has been a torturous search from day to day. >> But can't we help him? >> We try, but he's long past the point of no return. Then we will stop narcotics from entering the country. We will arrest the peddlers. We will educate our young people to the menace. We will put a stop to this. >> Yes, we will try. But if you want to defeat your enemy, you must first know him. [Music] This is a shooting gallery. A room where addicts come to inject their narcotic and must wait their turn to use the needle. >> Then all these people are addicts. >> Some are, some aren't. All will be. For one, it may take five shots. For another 50, but the narcotic will be master. [Music] >> What are these narcotics? >> Let's take it from the scientific viewpoint. There are three general classifications of narcotics as defined by law. The opiates, the synthetic drugs, and the cocaine marijuana group. The opiates grown and processed almost exclusively in foreign countries include opium and its two derivatives and heroin. The synthetic narcotics, including such drugs as demorall and methadone, are the result of science's attempt to produce a non-addictive narcotic, but attempts have failed. All synthetic narcotics are addictive. Cocaine is derived from the Peruvian cocoa plant. It is strongly addictive. Marijuana is easily grown in many countries, including the United States. The plant can be identified by its sawtooththed leaf, which always has an odd number of fingers. The underside of the leaf has a sticky feel to it. It is the leaves and flowering tops of this plant which contain the narcotic. This narcotic, unlike the opiates, the synthetics and cocaine is non-addictive. >> What do you mean by non-addictive? >> By non-addictive, it is meant that the user of marijuana when deprived of the drug will not experience the agonies of withdrawal. It is habituating, but its use can be discontinued. >> Then what is its danger? >> Marijuana, a powerful excitant, produces unpredictable emotional results. But its greatest danger lies in the fact that it is a stepping stone to the harder drugs such as morphine and heroin. 95% of narcotic addicts begin with the use of marijuana. Classified as dangerous drugs as distinct from narcotics are the barbituates, the sleeping pills known also as goofballs. There are approximately 400 varieties of barbituates on the market and all are highly addictive. In most states, the possession of these drugs without a doctor's prescription is illegal. Among the most common are nebutol, known as yellow jackets, and schanol, known as red devils. All narcotics and dangerous drugs have legitimate medical uses. Many are indispensable for painkilling and sleep producing properties. But in the hands of the addict, their use is perverted to secure an escape from reality. How about this man? What narcotic is he addicted to? >> All the people in this room are heroin users. Heroin is the strongest, most devastating opiate that exists. Its possession is absolutely prohibited in the United States. A hype will bring his narcotic to a shooting gallery where he will make use of certain apparatus for his injection. This apparatus usually includes an eyropper, a hypodermic needle and a spoon with a bit of cotton at the bottom and is known as an outfit. The heroin in powder form is placed in the spoon. Water is added and the narcotic is made to dissolve. This process is called cooking. After it has been cooked, the heroin is drawn into the eyropper through the wad of cotton, which acts to strain out some of the impurities. It is then ready for injection directly into a vein. >> But aren't they careful to sterilize? >> No. Either because of ignorance or to save time, no precaution is taken. Thus, any communicable disease of one hype may be directly transmitted into the bloodstream of another. For other narcotics, there are other methods of administration. For instance, black opium, though sometimes injected, is usually smoked. Five or six puffs. A dream world beckons. Reality is left behind, but problems aren't solved. Marijuana is also smoked. The reapfer as it is sometimes like an ordinary handrolled cigarette, but it is smoked differently. Large quantities of air are inhaled simultaneously with the smoke so that the stomach will absorb a high percentage of the narcotic. Marijuana is the most prevalent narcotic among juveniles. The pattern of escape is established. Many then try heroin. The step to narcotic addiction is short. The barbituates are usually taken orally. This group is classified as the dangerous drugs and is so named as a reminder to the user that they are addictive. Through continuous use, physical damage to the brain, kidneys, and liver can occur. But there is no drug as degrading and enslaving as heroin. [Music] [Music] Look at those marks. Yes, these scars on arms and legs are one of the few clues of heroin addiction. A hype will shoot into a vein until it collapses and then move on to the next. >> How do they get the stuff in the first place? >> Most narcotics are smuggled into the country on ships or across borders. Customs men are constantly on the lookout, but it can't all be intercepted. A great deal gets through. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Narcotics are a multi-million dollar business. An ounce of heroin costing $30 in Europe is worth 300 upon crossing the United States border. And then the profits really start as the narcotic is passed from the big dealers to the smaller dealers and finally to the retailers. It is diluted and rediluted until finally from the original ounce of heroin anywhere from 5 to 10 ounces had been produced. This dilution process is termed cutting and is usually done with milk sugar. Ounces are cut and made up into gram packages known as bindles or papers and sold to retailers who recut the bindles and package the narcotic into capsules. These capsules containing a low percentage of heroin can bring from $3 to $5 a piece. Though the amount of narcotic per unit weight decreases with each dilution, the price does not decrease proportionately. The original ounce of heroin bought for $30 has a possible retail value of $3,000. Marijuana is both across and grown within our borders. The leaves and flowering tops of the plant, ground to the consistency of pipe tobacco, are sold by the can or cigarettes, costing from 50 cents to $1 a piece. The cigarettes are rolled in a double wrapping of brown paper, though the more fragile white paper is sometimes used for the purpose of camouflage. Because marijuana is not as profitable as heroin and because it is only habit forming, narcotics peddlers or pushers try to convert the youthful marijuana user to the addictive, expensive, profitable heroin. >> Who are your addicts? >> People of all races and professions, the privileged and the underprivileged. >> How do they start? >> They usually start out young, maybe on a dare, maybe to follow the crowd. Many begin with marijuana and the pattern of escape is established. They then graduate to the harder drugs, the addictive drugs for bigger kicks and soon they are hooked. 5, 10, $20 a day. >> How do they get the money? >> Narcotics breed a desperate race of men. Heat. Heat. [Music] Can this girl be an addict? >> This is her third shot, but possibly her last chance to escape addiction. >> Then what? >> Need for drugs becomes need for money. No method is too degrading. [Music] There may be 10,000 women and 30,000 men in this city who are drug addicts. Each perhaps will initiate at least one new person to the use of narcotics. >> Well, what are we doing about it? If we can't prevent narcotics from entering the country, we've got to crack down on every peddler. Sure, that's what we should do. But we are often hindered by weak laws, apathetic judges and juries, and by underststaffed anti-narcotics forces. Each case requires time, money, and men. [Music] Stand by. [Music] Okay, let's go. [Music] The law states that possession of narcotics means that the suspect either has the drug on his person or that it was directly under his control at the time of arrest. Here, both officers saw this man throw the suspected narcotic. Suspects are searched on the spot and all evidence gathered is placed in envelopes in the presence of the arrested man and data relating to its seizure is recorded on the outside. There must always be at least two officers on an arrest so that there will be a corroborating witness. [Music] These officers, however, cannot testify in court that the suspected substance is a narcotic. The confiscated material must be examined by a chemist who will later testify as to his findings. So, we catch the pushers. But the problem doesn't end there. [Music] [Music] There is still the addict who without a will of his own has a continual craving for narcotics. While under the influence of his drug, he acts almost human. Without it, he becomes a desperate, tortured animal. But can these people be cured? >> Physically, yes. Mentally, there is no known permanent cure. Deprived of narcotics, the addict will undergo withdrawal symptoms for about 6 weeks. At the end of this period, his body will no longer need the drug, but the psychological need remains. Elaborate precautions must be taken to prevent the passage of narcotics into prisons. Double fine mesh screens and a careful search of all articles intended for prisoners do much to discourage smuggling. Clothing intended for narcotics prisoners is soaked in water to dissolve any narcotic the articles might be saturated with. Now that he knows, now that the suffering is over, doesn't he realize the hell that awaits him if he slips back? >> Yes, he realizes it and he'll fight. But the addict is not fit for such a fight. Narcotics have weakened his character, deteriorated his will. He may stay off a day, a month, a year, or more, but 99 out of 100 slip back. Back to one capsule a day. Two capsules, four capsules. Back to $5 a day, $10, $20. Back to prostitution, armed robbery, jail. Back to the desperate race of men. [Music] then there is no hope. >> The hope lies in prevention. Our laws must be strengthened and our enforcement agencies enlarged. And most important of all, be warned of the compelling habit forming danger of marijuana and the deadly addictiveness of the opiates. The people must be made aware. It is a social as well as a police problem.