The World Heroin Problem

Congress explores the French Connection.

“Five years ago the heroin problem was restricted to the ghetto areas of our major cities. Now it is spreading to the suburbs and is found among the children of the wealthy and well-to-do as well as among the poor.” – pg. 3.

During the spring of 1971, four representatives of the United States Congress (Morgan Murphy, Robert Steele, Dr. John Brady, and Fred Flott) undertook a worldwide tour to gather information pertaining to the illegal international traffic in heroin. Their findings were issued later that year to the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. The resulting report, seen here, is a fascinating piece that reflects serious public concerns about rising drug use, especially in urban centers and among veterans of the Vietnam War.

The problem is addressed frankly, with a straightforward assessment of the economics, smuggling methods, consumption patterns, and more. Recommendations are varied, but include intense policing measures by U.S. military authorities in Southeast Asia. The volume includes a fold-out map that highlights the illicit sources of opium and the flow of the finished product. The pipeline from Turkey, through France, to the East Coast was popularly known as the French Connection – the report notes that it facilitated as much as 80% of the illegal heroin entering the U.S.

Published in Washington, D.C. by the Government Printing Office in 1971. Interestingly, that same year, the hit film, The French Connection, was released. It would go on to win five Academy Awards.