The Road to H: Narcotics, Delinquency, and Social Policy

Four behavioral scientists here report on heroin use among New York males aged 16-20. The discussion confirms facts previously believed, advances new ideas, and advocates changes in policy. There is a thorough treatment of the study's methodology; the psychological and social factors correlated with addiction are fully presented. The distinction between occasional use of heroin and addiction is considered basic; heroin has no universal addictive impact—it acts only on susceptible personalities. The authors state that the harmfulness of heroin has been grossly overemphasized; the worst consequences of its use are a direct result of its illegality. The authors suggest that addicts cannot be "cured" by forced psychotherapy within institutions and that we must seriously consider the establishment of comprehensive clinics which will supply the addict with his opiate, analagous to the diabetic's insulin supply. Two questionable assertions come to mind: first, the statement that heroin addicts derive no "positive pleasures"