The Non-Narcotic Addicts

Doctors used to think that only half a dozen narcotics, such as heroin and morphine, could cause a true addiction: the victim could give up the drug without suffering the agonies of withdrawal. They have since discovered that there are lots of non-narcotic drugs that can lead to addiction and similar withdrawal sickness as well. Long-term use of barbiturates will do it. So will the so-called "minor tranquilizers" like meprobamate (Miltown or Equanil) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium), and the stimulant amphetamines ("bennies" or "goofballs"). Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Medical Director Joseph Sadusk told the A.M.A. that non-narcotic drug habituation has grown so widely that it has become a big business in the U.S. and has attracted the rapacity of vice and crime syndicates.

Big Lift. Dr. Sadusk estimated that at least 8 billion amphetamine tablets are produced each year, and that no less than half of them go into illegal, nonprescription channels, for sale under the counter at bars, gas stations and restaurants. The profits are enough to give even the surliest gangster an amphetamine lift: he can buy the tablets wholesale for $1 a thousand or less, and resell them at $30 to $50 a thousand, while the illicit retailer sells them at a nickel or a dime apiece and takes in from $50 to $100 a thousand.

"Other non-narcotic drugs will make their way into the illegal market," predicted Sadusk. In fact, they have already done so in Europe. And several of these "can cause states of intoxication and physical dependence similar to those induced by barbiturates, and abrupt withdrawal of excess dosages of these drugs can result in convulsions and psychotic behavior, or indeed, death."

The Sources. Dr. Carl F. Essig Jr. of the U.S. Public Health Service's Addiction Research Center in Lexington, Ky., listed five "minor tranquilizers," in addition to meprobamate and chlordiazepoxide, that can lead to intoxication or dependence: glutethimide (Doriden), ethchlorvynol (Placidyl), ethinamate (Valmid), methyprylon (Noludar) and diazepam (Valium). Excess use of any of these, said Essig, may cause drowsiness, difficulty in thinking, and incoordination of movement. The effects are similar to those of barbiturates and alcohol, and, like these, the newer drugs may contribute to traffic accidents, injuries from falls, interference with work and violent behavior.

Amphetamines and barbiturates get into illegal channels from makers of basic chemicals, drug manufacturers, distributors, retail drugstores, and, says the FDA's Sadusk, "even from physicians." In an effort to plug that last leak, the A.M.A. issued a warning to doctors to prescribe only the required amount of any drug for specific symptoms, and not to write prescriptions that can be refilled indefinitely.

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