ABSTRACT
Many writers have assumed that there is only one basic solution to the opium problem, namely, the limitation, by international agreement, of the amount of opium produced to that just sufficient to meet the medical needs of the world. A number of international conferences have been held for this purpose, but all attempts to secure effective international action on this matter have failed. This failure has been due to the fact that those countries with vested economic interests in the production of raw opium have refused to sacrifice these interests. The reduction or elimination of illegal dealing in opiates would unquestionably remove the greatest source of new addicts now in existence. There has been considerable publicity given to the federal hospitals which have been established in the United States by the Public Health Service to handle and study addicts.
