Addicts find new help at Medical Center
By JULIE THATCHER
Kansan Staff Writer
"Cold-turkey" doesn't mean holiday leftovers to a hard-core drug addict.
For years, cold-turkey withdrawal has been the only method of overcoming narcotic addiction. Now an experimental program using synthetic narcotics allows addicts to kick the drug habit and become productive members of society. Twenty-five persons are taking advantage of this treatment at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
KANSAN
Dr. William V. McKnelly Jr., psychiatrist and administrator of the program, said the experimentation began six years ago in New York and has been being tried at the medical center for two years.
The program involves substitution of methadone, a manufactured drug, for heroine. He said methadone produced no high and eliminated drug hunger when taken orally.
"An addict doesn't want to be an addict," he said, "but he can't help it. If you're thirsty all you can think about is water or if you're on a salt-free diet you crave salt. Even if an addict can't get drugs, he wants them. We are
10 KANSAN Dec. 16 1969
At many hospitals, patients are hospitalized with methadone tolerance is built up. This usually takes four to six weeks.
McKnelly said in-patient facilities were not available at the Medical Center so patients visited the hospital twice a day until their tolerance was stabilized. After that, each patient returns once a day for an oral dose of methadone, he said.
using methadone to satisfy this hunger with a minimum of pleasure while also eliminating criminal behavior."
An oral dose of methadone costs $1, McKnelly said, which is a direct contrast to a $50 to $100 daily drug habit. He said that anytime narcotics were used there was a great deal of paper work and the dollar charge was for record keeping.
It is taken in a grape juice solution and must be swallowed in front of the nurse. If a patient misses his dosage for more than three days, he is dropped from the program, McKnelly said.
Mrs. Mildred Baumgartner handles the calls. She said most who called were referred by someone receiving the methadone treatment. They are placed on a waiting list and she said it was important to keep them in order because they all know each other.
McKnelly said he thought the criminal activities of most drug addicts resulted from desperation.
Many who call, she said, sound desperate. One told her he had to get on the program "before something happened." Another made repeated calls, begging to be enrolled. When she finally was admitted, she broke down and cried.
"An addict needs drugs almost as much as a normal person needs water," he said. Once he is really 'strung out' he will do anything to get the drug or to get money for the drug."
"We don't have the facilities or money," he said. "I won't even talk to those who call. I want to take them all but it's important not to overload the program."
So far, McKnelly said, he hadn't refused anyone. He does try to avoid young people because they
would face a lifetime of addiction to methadone. (Programs to phase patients off methadone are still experimental.)
McKnelly told of some of his patients gains. One had never worked before and now holds three jobs. Another was injecting heroine into his jugular vein because that was the only vein still usable. After six months or a year without using needles, McKnelly said, hard users again have healthy veins.
Although there are as many as 35 daily inquiries, McKenny said, it is impossible to immediately admit everyone to the program.
Heroin is a short-acting narcotic with great euphoric properties. The addict first experiences a brief period of well-being then a sleepy period and state of limbo. As the effects wear off, the addict may suffer from restlessness, sweating, nausea, runny eyes and nose, back and leg pains and an intense craving for more drugs.
For the first time in years, addicts are receiving new treatment and new hope from agencies such as the Medical Center. Six years ago originators of the methadone program thought drug abstinence was no longer as important as developing normal functioning citizens and began the substitution program. Today former mainline addicts, returning to their jobs and families, support the success of that hypothesis.
One man sold his wife, others
McKnelly said methadone effects lasted 24-38 hours and could be used to achieve a high when injected. Narcotics, however, think it is unsatisfactory, he said, and only use it for emergencies.
resorted to prostitution, theft, till-tapping or shoplifting, McKnelly said.
FARM FIRE DAMAGE
NEW YORK-For such reasons as lack of fire-fighting facilities, less rigid wiring and construction standards and poorer heating equipment, fires in rural areas cause three to six times more damage on the average than fires in the cities, says the Insurance Information Institute. Farm fires caused a record $214 million damage in 1968.
In the New York program, McKnelly said, there has been at least a 90 per cent reduction in crime by drug users. In Kansas City there are not as many people involved but McKnelly thought at least 60 per cent of those enrolled went back to work.
The difference in the effect of the two drugs accounts for the success of methadone substitution, McKnelly said.
When switching from heroine to methadone, the addict does not experience the effects of either drug. The euphoric high is blocked, McKnellly said, and he feels no craving, his appetite improves and psychological outlook changes. There is no reason to
use heroine because he gets nothing from it, he said.