MEDICINE and law enforcement made important strides toward greater mutual understanding and more effective concerted action in narcotic drug control when more than 100 physicians and representatives of enforcement and licensure agencies shared experiences and planned for the future at a two-day conference in New York city, Jan 16-17, 1967.
Participants came principally from California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, and New York. These states have the overwhelming majority of narcotic dependent persons in the country. There was general agreement that mechanisms should be created on state and local levels to foster the proper use of narcotics in medical practice and to strengthen liaison among medical, law enforcement, and regulatory bodies to prevent and control misuse and abuse of narcotic drugs. ("Misuse" refers to the improper use of narcotics in medical practice. "Abuse" refers to the self-administration of narcotics for nonmedical purposes.)
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