The number of narcotic addicts in Japan have been increasing gradually after the world war II, becoming major social problem, and in 1963 narcotic regulational law was revised, mainly giving heavier punishment and compulsory hospitalization of the narcotic addicts, thus the countermeasure for the narcotic addiction called the attension. The numbers of compulsory hospitalized narcotic addicts during 3 years, for the time of the revision of regulation, July, 1963 to 1965; 86 in 1963, 155 in 1964 and 153 in 1965, and the age distribution at the time of hospitalization was 30's and 20's in 1963, and it moved to higher, 36's and 46's in 1964 and 1965. The patients' occupations were jobless and medical workers in most cases, Narcotics they used were heroin in 1963, and in 1964-1965 heroin was reduced and medical narcotics increased. The cause of addiction was injection for pain in most cases. Thus concerning the pattern of narcotic addiction changed before and after the revision of regulation, heroin addicts are reduced, instead medical narcotic addicts occupy most cases. Medical narcotic addicts and heroin addicts are clinically and statistically compared. The obtained results are:
1) Sex of the patient : Sixteen male and 4 female patients in medical narcotic addicts, 32 male and 10 female heroin addicts, and male patients occupy about 80%. The age is distributed 20's in heroin addicts and 30's and 40's in medical narcotic addicts. Medical workers were involued in 50% in the medical narcotic addicts Jobless occupies the next higher percentage, and their unstable feeling for the outer circumstances is shown, which might lead to the narcotic addiction. Most patient of heroin addicts were jobless, not well educated and had problem in their surroundings.
2) The first use of narcotics was for physical pain as in the other cases. However, some patient used narcotic for not so severe pain. Other than such physical pain, psychological motivations such as unstable feeling, curiosity became the moment of using narcotics. Most patients used narotics for 1- 5 years by such motivation. Most patients of heroin addiction used heroin by curiosity and their friends shot first narcotics.
3) Observation at the time of the hospitalization was that most patients had traces of injection and induration. Few cases showed lack of nutrition. As the subjective symptom, they had gastrointestinal pain but it disappeared soon, and no abnormality was found by detailed physical examination.
4) Narcotics were not given at all immediately after the hospitalizaion, and only 30% of the patients showed abstinence symptoms. They were diarrhea, vomitting, nausea, nasal discharge and general fatigue in a slight to middle degree. Only 12% of the patient showed abstinence symptom in the heroin addiction. No objective and subjective abstinence symptoms was observed in 70 to 80% of the both addiction.
5) Twenty six per cent of the patients of heroin addiction had experienced waking agents. Whereas only ten per cent of the patients of medical narcotic addiction had experienced the waking agents. Eleven patients of heroin addiction in younger generation had a sleeping agent, hyminal, in addition to the narcotics, but no such case was found in the medical narcotic addicts.
6) Personality characteristics; 9 “Willenlose”, 5 “Geltungsbedürftige”, and 3 hyperthymia, and 3 had no particular problem. In the heroin addiction, on the other hand, 17 “Willenlose”, 10 explosive character, 3 hyperthymia and 12 had on particular problem. As a whole, “Willenlose”, hyperthymia and “Geltungsbedürftige” occupied in most cases.
7) Narcotics used by them were morphine hydrochloride, opiat and opisco, and opisco, and some patient used more than 1 narcotics.
8) The process after the hospitalization had no problem for the medical narcotic addicts, while the patients of heroin addiction agitated other pa
