Findings From Grosse Pointe Study: Interview Excerpts

First used marihuana: Fall 1964

First used heroin: Summer 1967

Used heroin and marihuana until March 1969. After March: "Got strung on heroin when weed wasn't available. A whole lot of people started in the summer (1969). Lack of reefer could be a major factor."

A 20-year-old college dropout/artist:

First used marihuana: January 1968

First used heroin: June 1969

Stopped using heroin. Now uses "hash, weed, psychedelics." Reports his whole crowd used heroin during the summer of 1969. "I should associate with freaks who do weed and maybe acid, but no junk."

An 18-year-old drug dealer, presently enrolled in high school: First used marihuana: Summer 1968

First used heroin: June 1969

Heavy heroin use mid-July to early December 1969. First shot barbiturates, summer 1969; first shot amphetamines, summer 1969; first shot psychedelics, summer 1969. "At first the lack of weed turned a lot of kids on to junk." Reports 30 percent of high school students have used heroin and most started last summer (1969).

A 20-year-old truck driver:

First used marihuana: 1965

First used heroin: Late spring 1969

"People need to get high. Will use heroin if grass is not around. Lack of grass caused a good percentage of my friends to go to heroin."

A 20-year-old cook:

First used marihuana: 1966

First used heroin: Summer 1969

First used barbiturates, amphetamines, and psychedelics in April 1969. Attributes heroin use to: "curiosity, easy to cop, lack of weed and all other drugs except jones (heroin) in the summer."

A 22-year-old drug dealer:

First used marihuana: 1965

First used heroin: Spring 1966

"I'd say I know 200 people who use it daily. Jones hit here, just like it hit in California. It hit last summer. The kids had nothing to do. There was no weed but jones was available. The cops do nothing. A whole lot more people are using now."

An unemployed 18-year old:

First used marihuana: Summer 1967 First used heroin: Summer 1969

Presently using "grass, hash, jones.... My friends use heroin. People said it was good and I was curious to see what it is like. I started when the weed and hash supply got tight. It was the thing to do."

A 19-year-old laborer:

First used marihuana: 1967

First used heroin: Summer 1969

Presently uses heroin occasionally and marihuana frequently. Attributes heroin use to: "kicks, curiosity, lack of grass."

An unemployed 18-year old:

First used marihuana: 1968

First used heroin: Summer 1969

Also, first used (shot) amphetamines, summer 1969. "I tried it because there was no weed around and my friends were doing it."

An unemployed 19-year old:

First used marihuana: 1965

First used heroin: June 1969

Also first used opium, summer 1969. First used psychedelics in 1968 but first shot them in summer 1969. Presently uses "smack and grass.... There was a lack of grass and people needed a high so they used heroin 'cause it was available. There's more junk in Grosse Pointe now than ever, and there's not much to do to stop the spread. Grass is a good drug. "

A 20-year-old college sophomore:

First used marihuana: 1968

First used heroin: Spring 1969

First shot amphetamines, fall 1969; first shot barbiturates, summer 1969. Presently uses "pot, hash, and heroin occasionally." Comments: "As long as there is a lack of grass the heroin problem will get worse. Kids not having grass caused the heroin problem. The government was at fault.... Once you start to shoot it's only a matter of time before heroin.... Grass should be legal or easily available. You have to go underground to use grass. Now to get grass you're exposed to heroin. Before to get grass you were exposed to acid and other stuff, not heroin."

An 18-year-old high school student:

First used marihuana: Summer 1966

First used heroin: Summer 1969

Presently uses heroin twice a week. Previously, $25 a day habit. Comment: "One of the reasons I started last summer was that there was no grass around."

A 19-year-old high school student:

First used marihuana: Spring 1967

First used heroin: Spring 1969

Uses "grass, hash, and heroin." Reasons for use: "there was no weed around and using became the thing to do. It might get bigger before it tapers off."

A 17-year-old high school dropout:

First used marihuana: 1966

First used heroin: Summer 1969

Presently uses "hash, grass, and heroin occasionally." Reason for use: "One guy did it then the others. It became the cool thing to do. Many have nothing else to do, especially when there was no weed around, so they do it."

A 19-year-old college dropout:

First used marihuana: 1968

First used heroin: 1969

Now uses "weed, coke, hash, psychedelics, jones once last month." Comments: "Lack of weed had a lot to do with everybody starting to use jones last summer. To kick jones, you need another high, like weed. Kids should only avoid jones and hard drugs, not weed, hash, and psychedelics."

An 18-year-old high school dropout/pop festival promoter: First used marihuana: 1967

First used heroin: 1969

Still uses "smack, but quitting; also grass." Reason for starting: "No grass around and people wanted to get high. Smack was available."

An 18-year-old high school dropout:

First used marihuana: Spring 1966

First used heroin: 1968

Now uses "smack ($60 a day), grass, barbs." Comments: "Heroin is out of hand. Lots of kids influence other kids. It's easy to get. When grass wasn't around heroin was. Heroin fucks up the head. I'm using grass to kick."

A 17-year-old high school student:

First used marihuana: Winter 1968

First used heroin: Summer 1969

Started shooting amphetamines, spring 1969; shooting barbiturates, summer 1969, one month after heroin. Presently uses, "Jones, weed, hash, anything I can get." Heroin now used occasionally. "There wasn't any weed or other drugs around in the summer and heroin was around and easy to get."

Source: Robert Levengood, Project Director, "Questionnaire on Heroin" (unpublished interview data, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 1969). Project Advisor: Paul Lowinger, M.D. The study concluded that, "Many of those interviewed reported beginning to experiment with heroin during the summer of 1969 and related this to the scarcity of marijuana due to Operation Intercept." See, Robert Levengood, M.D.; Paul Lowinger, M.D.; and Kenneth Schoof, M.D., "Heroin Addiction in the Suburbs - An Epidemiologic Study," American Journal of Public Health (March, 1973), pp. 209-214.