Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Ethel, 1980Biographical NoteEthel was born on July 2, 1914 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the seventh of nine children. She was raised by her mother and father on the family's dairy farm. She graduated high school and went on to complete practical nursing school before moving to New York and getting married at nineteen years of age. She and her husband had no children and separated after seven years. Ethel practiced per diem nursing through an agency for thirty years, until 1961. She first became addicted to narcotics in 1955, when she had an operation for a bowel obstruction. Her doctor prescribed her Demerol for five years due to surgical complications. She transitioned to heroin after she stopped taking Demerol in 1960. Ethel made various attempts to break her drug addiction through methadone detoxification at hospitals such as Lexington hospital, Logan Memorial Hospital, and Bronx State Hospital (Bronx Psychiatric Center). Ethel was interviewed for the project that led to the book Addicts Who Survived. The name is likely a pseudonym for the project
Scope and ContentsIn this interview, Ethel describes her life from adolescence in Greensboro North Carolina to adulthood in New York City, with a focus on her drug usage and addiction. She explains how she first became addicted to narcotics in 1955 at forty-one years of age after being prescribed Demerol by her doctor after an operation. She discusses her transition from Demerol to heroin, and her subsequent attempts to stop her drug addiction using methadone. She explains the different methods for acquiring and using opiates, and the distinction between "street" addicts and "medical" addicts. She discusses how she received heroin through her friend who was a registered nurse, and delves into how doctors and nurses often functioned as conduits to drug use
SubjectsAccess ConditionsCopyright by David Courtwright
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