1925: Commissioned Report on Treatment for Addiction

A state-appointed committee authors an extensive report on the treatment of New Yorkers who seek public assistance for drug addiction. The New York City drug ordinances treat addiction as a crime. Men who come forward are detained on Rikers, which is described by the commissioners as “raw and uncouth.” There they are treated with “carelessness, indifference, ignorance, and misconduct.” “As for treatment,” the committee reports, “it is not worth the name.” In place of this inhumane treatment, the committee recommends educating public school students on addiction and treatment in public hospitals using best practices backed by scientific research.