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Show DRUGS Menace Teexi-Ag- e Growing Here is how and why we must curb this insidious racket which has infiltrated many high schools across the nation . f t L By THOMAS A AT high school in a West Coast -- arid try these pep pills. They're cheap easy to get."" Curiosity led a jjroup of youngsters into experiments with barbiturates (tranquilizing in nature) and amphetamine drugs "pep" pills), until one ' evening police were tipped off that a young girl was unconscious in a vacant lot. They found a girl in critical condition and only prompt medical attention saved her life. Later, she told officers that she had taken five "red devils" and two "bennies- - (both powerful drugs). She doesn't remember much after that, but such dosages have led other youths into ultimate drug addiction, murderous fights, and fatal automobile accidents. Why had she done it? "Everybody else was doing it," she explained, "and I wanted to see what The result was epidemic-lik- e. (so-call- ed high-scho- 15-year-- ol J j to 19-ye- ar- narcotics in. California found that in several cities the number on arrestsf ornsingor "7i possessing what youngsters call f Senator Dodd "bennies," "goof balls," "red y devils, or "yellow jackets v rose some 400 percent between 1954 ' C and 1961. Illegal traffic in barbiturates and amphetamines differs in two respects from g criminal distribution of such narhabit-formin- cotics as narcotics arestringently-regulate- d in production and distribution; pep pills, for example, are not. Illegal narcotics, usually smuggled into the country, are expensive, and. most frequently peddled in slum neighborhoods heroin.-"Hard- " e. pusher's story of how the filter down to students: "I started pushing reds at school in November. I deatwith half my1customers during nutri tion (class), the other half during lunch. I buy a bag'of popcorn, put one or two rolls (of pills) iri the bag, and offer my customer some popcorn. I've pulled this in front of teachers every day. "Most of the deals at school are for one roll, six for $1, but on the corner I sell as much as $10 worth. I score (purchase) for a jar at a time, usually, 1,000 in a jar, and make $200 or $300." We probably have lagged in bringing these drugs under stricter control because we consider them "mild." Amphetamines, while not Here's olds A speciaLstudy commission of juvenile off-polic- er investigate juvenile delinquency, I have learned this is not an isolated case. Evidence shows that more and more potentially dangerous drugs are 15- - in this - As chairman of the Senate subcommittee to being sold among mass-produc- ed that barbitu one-gra- in 1 they were like." shows country for vital medical purposes, may find their waj? into any size community and attract youngsters from all income groups. You may be lucky in that this evil has not Invaded your city, but reports in my files show that the problem is spreading through the country like a plague, so I feel it my duty to warn all communities beware, be vigilant!. Why do these drugs, so helpful when used properly," fall into unscrupulous hands? I believe one reason is that we have inadequate records on the distribution of these plentiful drugs (in 1960 the U. S. produced 5 billion barbiturate tablets and 4 billion tablets of amphetamines). An amoral person ean"w(rk his way into legitimate channels of supply and siphon off large amounts without being quickly detected. . Take the case of a Missouri salesman for- a reputable drug wholesaler. We found he was stealing pills from his employer and selling them to young "pushers." Because records on the drugs were poor, he might have gone on indefinitely. But a teen-agWhen arrested, tipped the salesman had 12,000 capsules in his car. "For real kicks," said one boy, "you gotta m lartre cities0 ur evidence rates and amphetamines, city, a new fad was introduced. DODD, U.S. Senator from Connecticut . -h- A 17-year-- old abit-forming ever r barbiturates are with agoV nizing .withdrawal symptoms. J Here Is how one doctor,.a specialist in drug illnesses, described what victims suffer: habit-formin- g, " "They, go into psychotic episodes. They have hallucinations and feel persecuted . ... are nervous, panicky, and could even commit suicide. They get into this because they do not know (the effects). They can get a lift with these drugs, but after a while they are. really sick." The Federal Food and Drug Administration, has issued an order banning retail sales of barbiturates and amphetamines without prescription, but this is only a stopgap measure. It places all the burden on local druggists who, with rare exceptions, are innocent of wrongdoing; it has little effect on the real evil party the bootlegger who obtains the drugs from legitimate sources by illegitimate means. I new law (Senate Bill 1939) which Congress is now considering. It would have proposed a plug holes in present channels of distribution by requiring the drug industry to list and record all transactions involving barbiturates and amphetamines. With these records, local and i Federal agencies could quickly track down sources of unprescribed drugs. I want to emphasize that these requirements do not subject manufacturers and distributors to arbitrary Federal intervention. They simply aim at locating primary sources of illicit traffic. The' bill would also make it tougher on those sources. Now we must prove that, a bootlegger has dealt in drugs shipped between states; under my bill, even intrastate traffickTng would7be"sub ject to Federal prosecution. And the present maximum penalties of $1,000 and a year in prison would be doubled. The Senate labor and public welfare committee under Sen. Lister Hill is scheduled to hold hearings on this bill soon. I hope the public will voice support for the bill. I hope, too, that parents and teachers will remain alert to the possibility of "kick" drugs invading their local schools. My experience has convinced me that in the, entire field of juvenile crime there is no more disturbing problem than the use of drugs by our young people. Unless immediate action is taken both at home and through stronger legislation, this problem will grow to tragic proportions. Jaw-enforcem- ent March 18,1962- COVER: LEONARD S. DAVIDOW President and Publisher . Board of Editors WALTER C. DREYFUS Vice President i, PATRICK I. OUOURKE Advertising Director MORTON FRANK Director of Publisher Relations Actor Burt Lancaster, who won an Academy Award last year, is one of the few superstars who remain relatively unknown. For a penetrating close-u- p of Burt, see p. U. ' Send all advertising communications to Family Weekly, 153 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 1, III. Address all communications about editorial features to Family Weekly, 60 E. 56th St., New York 22, N. Y. 1962, FAMILY WEEKLY - V ERNEST V. HEYN Editor-in-Chi- ef . BEN KARTMAN Executive Editor 1 ROBERT FITZGIBBON Managing Editor MARGARET BELL Featurt Editor PHILLIP DYKSTRA Art Director MELANIE DE PROFT Food Editor Rosalyn Abrevaya, John Hochmann, Jerry Klein, Hal London, Jack Ryan; Peer S. Oppenheimer, Hollywood. MAGAZINE, INC., 153 N. M ichioan Ave.. Chicaao 1. Ill All rinKf. r.-- r , |