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Oral history interview with Nick J., 1980

Creator: J., Nick
Project: Addicts Who Survived oral history collection.
(see all project interviews)
Phys. Desc. :transcript: 118 pages sound file : digital preservation master, WAV files (96 kHz, 24 bit)
Location: Columbia Center for Oral History
Full CLIO record >>

Biographical Note

Nick J. was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1909. His father was a first generation Italian immigrant, and his mother was a first generation immigrant from Alsace-Lorraine. He was the eighth born of nine children in his family. He attended school through eighth grade, then dropped out and began working as an apprentice oiler for American Export Lines. Nick served in the Navy from 1941 to 1945, and was honorably discharged. During his time in the Navy, he began to use morphine that was stashed in medical kits on lifeboats. He then moved back to New York and worked as a truck driver for a company called Truckman. He first used heroin in 1947, and by 1949, had become addicted and quit his job as a truck driver. He began stealing from department and grocery stores, and selling the merchandise on the street. In the mid 1960s, Nick began purchasing Dolophine from street dealers. In 1970, he detoxed from heroin at Beth Israel Hospital. In 1976 he joined a methadone program. Nick J. was interviewed for the project that led to the book Addicts Who Survived. The name is likely a pseudonym for the project. In the book, Nick J. was referred to by the pseudonym "Mick"

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Nick J. discusses his life in New York City, focusing on his drug use. He describes using cocaine with a group of friends in his early teens. He discusses the etymology of the word "junkie" and its negative connotation. He discusses his time in the Navy during World War II, and how he was able to use morphine that was stashed in medical kits on the ship's lifeboats. He reviews his arrest history. He describes at length what he perceives to be the permanent effects of heroin on a user's brain, specifically brain fogginess. Nick describes attending shooting galleries, and what would happen when they were raided by the police, mentioning that he, a white man, was told to leave while Puerto Rican and Black patrons were arrested. He describes stealing from department and grocery stores, and selling the merchandise on the street. He explains how the quality of heroin plummeted in 1959, and how it was often mixed with Ajax, or crushed up aspirin and amphetamine pills. He discusses changes he has observed in the drug scene from the 1940s to the 1970s. He describes his experience detoxing from heroin at Beth Israel Hospitalin the early 1970s. He describes attending two private methadone programs

Subjects

Access Conditions

Copyright by David Courtwright

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