Simply, it is very difficult to engage these people in treatment and keep them through the process of detoxification, because we really don't have anything to offer them. They are really trapped in selfmedicating, and it is difficult to work with someone at that point.

The trend for the past year has reflected the use of Talwin as a primary drug of choice by young, first admission with no prior psychiatric care, black males. Approximately one-fourth of the patient group were able to complete a course of outpatient detoxification which averaged 15 to 19 days. It took that long on an outpatient basis to withdraw them from the Talwin.

Significantly, our more recent admissions, again, since rescheduling, are that we are seeing older, former primary heroin abusers who have returned to illicit drug use following a number of treatment failures with methadone clinics or in fact who have been using Talwin intramuscularly for 3 to 4 years. These individuals were concerned with the scarcity of Talwin pills on the streets and the recent reluctance of their "legal" connections to continue prescribing.

With little or no success in outpatient detoxification, these patients have been admitted to our inpatient psychiatric unit and detoxified, using all oral doses of Talwin on a q.i.d., four-times-a-day basis to alleviate any withdrawal complications.

So, currently we are averaging 8 to 10 Talwin addicts on our program. We had to give up almost entirely with outpatient care and treatment and had to go to inpatient care, which, as you well know, is expensive, time-consuming, and not necessarily going to give us the best results.

We have also identified small numbers of housewives, neighbors, friends, who use low doses of Talwin orally, four to six pills per day. Some of these women are grandmothers, never had drug abuse histories or prior records of treatment or prior significant medical histories. They are injecting these drugs into their buttocks and hips. These women have had the most extensive soft-tissue reactions. In almost every instance we had to admit them to our medical unit for acute care.

Some of the problems with these women is they have grandchildren to take care of and were not able to find anyone to take care of them and were, therefore, not admitted to our program. We then had to make housecalls with our nurses to dress abcesses and take care of the wounds.

Mr. NELLIS. Excuse me. You are talking about women. What proportion overall of the patients would you say have been female? Dr. PANIO. Talwin abuse?

Mr. NELLIS. Yes; just briefly.

Dr. PANIO. I can tell you specifically, 20 percent.

Mr. NELLIS. And of this 20 percent, you have a substantial percent. age of the grandmotherly types you are describing?

Dr. PANIO. Not substantial. This has been more recent.

Mr. NELLIS. Small, recent?

Dr. PANIO. Right.

Mr. NELLIS. These are oral Talwin users?

Dr. PANIO. Oral and intramuscularly.

Mr. NELLIS. Who supplies?

Dr. PANIO. They are getting it on the street.

Mr. NELLIS. Grandmothers are buying Talwin on the street?
Dr. PANIO. That's right.

Mr. NELLIS. Thank you.

Dr. PANIO. A recent series of inquiries gained since the rescheduling have been generated from drug treatment units sponsored by the military on military bases and camps, who have indicated they have suspected use of some drug by individuals in their units. But yet, when they run a urinalysis test, they come up negative for opiates. My suggestion has been to use a thin-layer chromatography technique and look specifically for Talwin.

Approximately 60 percent of the military personnel from Colorado, Texas, Alabama, California, a series of VA hospitals, have called me back to confirm that they were able to identify Talwin in the use of individuals in their drug programs.

Mr. MURPHY. Would you repeat those States again?

Dr. PANIO. Colorado, Texas, Alabama, California. I will be prepared to give you more specific information.

Mr. MURPHY. This is with the VA hospitals treating military personnel?

Dr. PANIO. VA and military bases.

Mr. MURPHY. So, it is an interstate problem.

Dr. PANIO. A year ago in August. I presented a workshop on Talwin at the Colorado summer institute on drug dependence at Colorado Springs. I returned there this year for a repeat seminar. And this is a particular institute attended by a good number of military personnel, so we had very recently an opportunity to discuss this dilemma with the chiefs of programs on military bases and VA hospitals.

Mr. MURPHY. What was the discussion?

Dr. PANIO. The discussion was that they are beginning to see it and are mystified because they can't identify it through their routine urinalysis. And it is simply because most of them were not aware that the drug that was being abused was Talwin.

So, basically, the initial anxiety on the part of the drug personnel was just a lack of information.

Mr. MURPHY. We would like to hear now from Sheriff Elrod.

We appreciate your appearing today, knowing your busy schedule, coming by and helping the committee.

TESTIMONY OF RICHARD ELROD, SHERIFF, COOK COUNTY, ILL.

Mr. ELROD. Thank you, Mr. Congressman, Mr. Nellis.

I do not have a prepared formal text.

I want to commend this committee in what you have done in the past. Congressman Murphy has always been in the forefront in this area. And I commend you and Mr. Nellis for soliciting and eliciting this type of information and testimony from any and all people.

As the sheriff of Cook County, we have worked very hard to control drug traffic. I can tell you some other qualifications. I am the president of the Illinois Sheriffs Association, and I have had contact and we have had seminars relating to this problem and other problems.

I am a commissioner of the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, where we have granted funds, LEAA funds, for some of these particular problems. And I am a member of the Chicago-Cook County Criminal Justice Commission. That is just by way of background.

We have in Cook County-I started in 1971-a metropolitan narcotics and dangerous drug enforcement. We tried to bring together the local suburban police departments and the city of Chicago. At that time we had 25 agents from the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department, we had 25 agents from other local municipal police departments, a total of 50 agents, where we had Federal funding of LEAA funds.

When that funding ran out in 1977 we went to the general assembly, and we and four other statewide NEG agencies, with numerous counties-in one instance, I believe, it expanded into Iowa on the western border of the State of Illinois around Rock Island-where we tried to have the State department of law enforcement pick up the funding for these multijurisdictional problems, including Cook.

The general assembly, both houses, passed this bill. And it was two bills: A house bill 36 and house bill 37.

The appropriations bill was mandatorily vetoed by the governor, vetoing the $350,000 that was supposed to be appropriated to the County of Cook, and passing it in all other aspects.

Rather than try to go for an override, I sat down with the director of law enforcement, Mr. Tyrone Feyman, of the State of Illinois, and we formed a new group that is basically being funded by the local municipalities in suburban Cook County. But it is called the "Northeastern Metropolitan Narcotics Enforcement Group."

Whereas previously, they derived their law enforcement authority by being deputized as deputy sheriffs, they now derive their authority as, I guess, being "trooperized" or being made officials of the Department of the Law Enforcement of the State Police.

We have just recently reorganized, because there was this hiatus period. During this hiatus period, naturally, the agents from the sheriff's police continued to work in suburban Cook County. Lt. Jack Hinchey was the director under the old NEG unit and is now the director of the Chicago Narcotics Unit. He did an excellent job. We still are in contact with Director Hinchey.

The present director of the Northeastern NEG unit is Director O'Sullivan; and the special assistant director is Director Robert Taylor, who is from the sheriff's police.

We are continuing this effort in suburban Cook County. I can get into more details as to statistics any time you call me. I don't have all the statistics in front of me.

But there is a problem, and there is a problem that exists in suburban Cook County. I would say the problem is as much on opiates as it is on other types of drugs and controlled substances. PCP seems to be a very common problem in suburban Cook County. There is much more cocaine. That is becoming more prevalent in the last couple of years.

I have other functions. And one of the functions is to work with the task group that is Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes, which is a derivative or a subagency of the Illinois Department of Dangerous Drugs that we have funded here in Cook County, and through

LEAA money. They have people that are in branch 57 and 25, which are the narcotics branches of the first municipal district of the circuit court of Cook County, where they will take first offenders and they will work with them basically with the state attorneys.

It will be, in essence, a continuance for a certain period of time that they see that these people have counseling. And it would be youthful first offenders, which started when the State's Attorney Hanrahan was State's attorney, but it has been continued, and it is now operated by the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes.

Then the case will be discharged, and the young person won't have a record. It has to be for 30 grams or less of cannabis. So, it can't be for possession of anything more than that, because, obviously, that person would not be merely a possessor, but probably would be a pusher, too. We have worked with them.

I also have worked with the Youth Network Council and Alternatives, Inc., where they have drug dropoff centers throughout suburban Cook County. And there is one in the city of Chicago, where we have publicized and sent through various public relations to the public where they can drop off drugs. If a parent suspects or sees something that may be a controlled substance, they can drop these off to the specific places, and there will be a carrier that I have sent a letter that they will carry if they have printed them.

And we have looked through this background to see that they are qualified people. They are not deputized; they don't have law enforcement powers. But they take it to a drug laboratory in Skokie, Ill., Zero Laboratory, where it can be analyzed and to see if there is any type of adulteration.

When this Mexican-what was that called-when proliferation of the paraquat became prevalent, we spotted it immediately.

We are not trying to use this so that pushers can determine the quality. And we try to maintain controls. And the State's attorney of Cook County has agreed not to prosecute anyone that is on the street.

I have talked to Superintendent O'Grady to see if it can't be expanded into the city of Chicago for certification by the Illinois Dangerous Drugs Commission, and we will be out of it altogether if it could be in that area.

I would be happy to answer any questions. We are involved in many different aspects. I do have a time problem, and I do appreciate the opportunity.

Mr. MURPHY. Sheriff, we really appreciate you coming by today. And I know of the unit you formed, the MEG unit, and the director, John Hincky, and the great job he has done in providing the information to the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse that has emanated from your office.

We in the Federal Government are most appreciative of it.
Counsel?

Mr. NELLIS. No, except to welcome Mr. Elrod, who is an old friend. I am glad to you see you sir, and wish you much good luck in the future.

Mr. ELROD. Thank you, and the same to you.

If I may be excused

Mr. MURPHY. Sergeant Eichler.

TESTIMONY OF SGT. THOMAS J. EICHLER, GANG CRIMES SOUTH, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT

Sergeant EICHLER. Yes. I would just like to read a brief written statement on the Chicago Police Department.

Dr. PANIO. Excuse me, may I beg your permission to leave, also? Mr. MURPHY. Thank you. We appreciate your testimony here. We understand your time problem. We have tried to accommodate you. Mr. NELLIS. I only wish Dr. Speir had been here to hear the testimony

Mr. MURPHY. We will make sure he gets a copy of it.

Sergeant?

Sergeant EICHLER. In September of 1977, members of the Chicago Police Gang Crimes Division/South Section, while assigned to narcotic trafficking of street gang members, effected the arrest of one Harry Scott for possession of controlled substance-pills-on the street at 47th and Prairie on Chicago's near South Side.

The suspected narcotics were routinely inventoried and sent to the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory for analysis. The arrestee was known as a major dealer in heroin and cocaine. The crime laboratory analysis was classified as negative under the Illinois Controlled Substance Act.

Having knowledge that the substance seized was being offered for sale at the street level to known heroin addicts, I requested that the substance be reexamined. The reexamination again resulted in a negative finding.

During the following 2 months, one of my informants made me aware of new drugs that he referred to as the "T's and Blues" and which "gave you the same high as heroin, but are cheaper and easier to obtain."

Furthermore, he informed me that these were being sold out of a drugstore located at 500 West 59th Street. Several weeks later, officers of the Chicago Police Department's 12th District Tactical Team conducted a raid at this location and seized a large quantity of these new drugs known by the pharmaceutical name of Talwin and Pyribenzamine.

The drugs were packaged in large quantities in paper bags, ready for sale to street dealers. Each bag was labeled with street nicknames such as "Snake," "Willie," et cetera, apparently to make distribution faster and less complicated.

On November 1, 1977, I, along with other members of the Gang Crimes South Section, conducted a fixed surveillance of the same drugstore. After witnessing several sales of drugs to known narcotic addicts, arrest action was taken which resulted in the arrest of seven individuals for possession of a controlled substance.

Seized during these arrests were Talwin, Pyribenzamine, and Valium, with a total estimated street value in excess of a quarter of a million dollars.

Shortly after this arrest, we developed information relative to another major distribution house, the Mohawk Medical Facility located at 832 West Madison, Chicago, Ill. Our informant in this case stated that there were so many T's and Blues being sold from this