doi:10.7916/d8-z52y-jn53Oral history interview with Jack, 1980Jackoral historiesmixed materialDrug addicts--United StatesDrug dealers--United StatesDrug traffic--History--20th century.--United StatesHeroin abuse--History--20th century.--United StatesDrugs--PrescribingMethadone maintenance--History--20th century.--United StatesMafia--United StatesJewish criminals--New York (State)Organized crime--History--20th century.--United StatesJackIn this interview, Jack discusses his life in Hamburg, Germany, and New York City, with respect to his drug use and dealing. He characterizes his clientele in the early 1930s as mostly white, of German, Irish, or Italian ethnicity, and second-generation Americans. He describes a period of gradual transition taking place from roughly 1928 to 1945 during which control of the drug commerce in NYC changed hands from Jewish groups to Italian groups. He suggets that the catalyst of this transition was the murder of Jewish gangster Arnold Rothstein in 1928. He also discusses the relative scarcity of heroin during World War II, and the ways he compensated, including using paregoric, dilaudid, and morphine. He describes and compares the various doctors he acquired Dilaudid and morphine from. He also describes how he stopped selling heroin during World War II because he lost many of his connections. He comments on the difference between methadone and heroin, as well as the difference between heroin and opium, and the type and class of people using each drug. Jack also delves into his ten year experience in the methadone program, and explains how it has changed over time from when it first opened in 1965