Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to W M Harding.
Preliminary data are reported on 10 former heroin addicts who have maintained long-term occasional patterns of heroin use. Emphasis is placed on the degree of their past addiction and present control. The implication of the existence of such users for etiological theories, treatment, and further research are discussed.
This paper will report on preliminary findings of an on-going study of "controlled" use of marihuana, psychedelics, and opiates which point to the possibility of minimizing the social costs of illicit drug use via social control. This study, sponsored by The Drug Abuse Council, Inc., a non-profit private foundation, shows that despite the lack of larger cultural support for controlled illicit drug use and other obstacles, users are able to develop and maintain moderate, long-term, nonabusive, i.e., controlled, drug-using patterns. We will show that these patterns are primarily supported by the development of social drug-using situations in which sanctions and rituals permit use while condemning abuse. In the discussion, we will compare the management of controlled use in our sample to the larger culture's handling of alcohol.
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This paper is intended to counter the prevailing tendency to disregard or dismiss nonaddictive patterns of opiate use. Studies conducted during the 1970s pointed out the existence of large numbers of occasional opiate users, but left unresolved questions about how well controlled such use might be. Findings from research on long-term, moderate opiate users show that controlled use is possible and should be distinguished from compulsive/addictive opiate use. Several hypotheses which suggest that controlled use is an "artifact" are contradicted by the study findings. Some of the implications for future research on opiate use are discussed.