Oral history interview with Li, 1980

Biographical Note

Li was born in Fuzhou, China in 1917. He was the oldest of three siblings. During World War II, he moved to Singapore and became a sailor on a tankship for an English oil company. In 1942, his ship was bombed by the Japanese, and he was stranded in Philadelphia. He was afraid to go back to sea during the war, so he moved to New Jersey and began working as a dishwasher in a restaurant. In 1946, Li moved to New York City and began working as a cook at a restaurant in Queens. He began using heroin the same year to treat hemorrhoid pain. After about a year of using heroin, he realized he was addicted and sought treatment at the Bernstein Institute. Li visited the Bernstein Institute a total of seven times throughout his period of heroin use from 1945 to 1970. Li was arrested once for possession of narcotics and was incarcerated for a month at The Tombs (Manhattan Detention Complex). He joined a methadone program in 1970. Li was interviewed for the project that led to the book Addicts Who Survived. The name is likely a pseudonym for the project

Scope and Contents

In this interview Li discusses his life in New York City with a special focus on his drug use. He discusses how he immigrated to the United States as a sailor on a tankship for an English oil company. He describes the Japanese invasion of China, and how the ship he was aboard was bombed by the Japanese in 1942. He explains how he first used heroin in 1945 in order to manage hemorrhoid pain. He discusses living in a tenement apartment, and the general difficulties he faced in finding and maintaining affordable housing. He discusses working as a dishwasher and a cook in New York City restaurants. He describes his cycles of detoxification at the Bernstein Institute, and readdiction. He discusses where and from whom he bought heroin, and estimates how much his habit cost him per week. He mentions his one arrest and subsequent incarceration at The Tombs (Manhattan Detention Complex). He comments on an incident where he passed out after using heroin, and broke his leg, and describes the financial burden he incurred. He discusses his opinion of the methadone program. An interpreter, who is also present in this interview, briefly discusses the rise in the price of opium in the 1960s, and how it pushed many users to join methadone programs

Subjects

• Courtwright, David T., 1952- interviewer.
• Drug addicts--Rehabilitation--United States.
• Drug addicts--United States.
• Drug traffic--United States--History--20th century.
• Heroin abuse--United States--History--20th century.
• Imprisonment--United States.
• Interviews.
• Joseph, Herman, 1931- interviewer.
• Li--Interviews.
• Methadone maintenance--United States--History--20th century.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• World War, 1939-1945--Transportation.

Access Conditions

Copyright by David Courtwright