This anti-drug abuse and addiction educational film features the well known American actor Paul Newman. In the movie, Newman and Dr. James L. Goddard, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, examine the effects of misuse of barbiturates and amphetamines. The film opens with Paul (:18). Amphetamines are stimulants which affect the central nervous system (1:58). Barbiturates are central nervous system depressants (2:13). One man’s story is heard as he ingested stimulants while driving for a firm in order to take a run that was too long (3:38). He began to hallucinate while driving causing erratic driving behavior (4:21). After shooting at the hallucination, he pulled off into a near by town in order to shake off his imaginary pursuer (5:13). He tried to crash the vehicle in order to save himself (5:27). The camera pans up to show the overturned semi-truck (5:30). Photographs are compared of the damage inflicted on a man’s physical appearance after two months of heavy use (6:46). Barbiturates were the number one cause of death (7:14). The two groups of users are broken down (7:46). A woman recounts her experience watching her brother suffer with addiction as he lost his job (8:24). Footage is shown of barbiturate users slipping into withdraw which was often more dangerous than narcotic use as they convulse, seize and sometimes die in the process (9:53). The combination of bennies and goofballs is looked to (10:49). One man was sent through his windshield while driving under the influence (10:58). He quit for one year after the accident until he ran into his former dealer and relapsed (11:36). The drug use caused him to lose reliability in society after incidences with the law (11:52). It also changed how his brain worked as he found himself moving and talking slower (12:10). He also experienced difficulty controlling his emotions (12:36). Another case shows an eighteen year old in jail for murder (13:13). He was convicted and sentenced to death by the electric chair. Footage shown is from a live interview conducted to collect any statements from the defendant (13:25). The defense council questions him over his drug use and his older companion as they were both involved in a series of offenses spread over five states (14:14). His message to young viewers is that he hoped if he were to die by electric chair it might deter others from trying the drug (15:25). Scenes follow from drug busts (15:36) as the FDA had been fighting drug trafficking. The FDA was limited due to loop holes in the Federal Drug and Cosmetic Act (15:48). Lyndon B. Johnson is seen in the White House (16:21) as he signs Drug Abuse Control Amendments into law on July 15th, 1965 (16:30). He speaks about the drug problem in the US (16:32) as about half of those produced were being diverted for criminal trafficking. This law enabled the FDA to require manufacturers and distributors to keep accurate records of barbiturates, amphetamines and other similar substances (17:53). It also allowed special agents to go undercover in order to track drugs down as well as cooperation with other agencies in order to build an educational campaign for parents and teens (18:12). This film was produced by the FDA (19:00).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com