Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...

34so intense that we haven't done very much with it. Or you can modifyeither of these bases in other ways and get lesser degrees of antagonismwith lesser subjective effects. Pentazocine is such a compound. It is,at the same time, an agonist; that is, a morphine-like substance whichproduces the morphine-like relief from pam and so on, as well asbeing a mild antagonist. So that it can prevent the development ofmorphine-like dependence or precipitate withdrawal phenomena ifgiven to a person dependent on morphine.Mr. Perito. I assume the same would be true with cyclazocine andnaloxone.Dr. Eddy. Cyclazocine is a modification of one of the synthetics.Naloxone, on the other hand, is derived by modification of a morphinederivative. Therefore, theoretically, we would require the availabilityof opium in order to produce naloxone. Actually there is anothervariety of poppy which produces one of the opium alkaloids in itsnatural life history without producing morphine, and work is underwayto develop this particular variety of poppy to get the startingmaterial to make naloxone without having, at the same time, an oversupplyof morphine.Even though naloxone is morphine based, if I may put it that way,it is theoretically possible to come to it without having to go throughmorphine production.Chairman Pepper. Doctor, if we could eliminate the legitimate needfor the growing of the opium poppy, and, if, as you suggested, we couldprovide a comparable income to the grower of the opium poppy bysubstituting some other crop that would not have these injuriouseffects, do you think that would be in the public interest of this Nationand the nations of the world ?Dr. Eddy. Very definitely so. If you reduce the overall productionyou must increase the trend toward the use of the substitutes.If I might refer to the question that was asked of Dr. Seevers withrespect to the international situation when we came so close to banningthe synthetics some years ago, it was largely an economic question.The opium producing countries were afraid of the loss of theirincome, of course, and they put forth the claim, or made the assertion,that if we permitted the synthetics, we would develop a greater problemthan we had in controlling opium, since we would develop theopportunity for illicit production of the synthetics. Well, that problemhas not developed and the manufacturing countries argued thatthev did not expect that it would develop.Chemistry is not all that simple. If we were to cut off the supplyof opium completely we might be faced with some prol)lems alongthose lines, because we know now that there are illicit manufacturersof barbiturates and amphetamines in addition to the licit manufacture.So we can't eliminate completely the possibility of illicit manufactureof synthetics if we turn to the synthetics in place of naturalalkaloids.Chairman Pepper. Doctor, from your knowledge of the general fieldand of the sums available for carrying on the very commendable researchin finding a synthetic substitute for morphine and codeine, andalso for the finding of an antagonistic drug to heroin, are the fundspresently available adequate to carry on the research programs thatvou think are desirable ?