doi:10.7916/d8-7hmf-3233Oral history interview with Mel, 1980Meloral historiesmixed materialDrug addicts--United StatesDrug dealers--United StatesImprisonment--United StatesDrug traffic--History--20th century.--United StatesOpium abuse--History--20th century.--United StatesHeroin abuse--History--20th century.--United StatesDrug addicts--Rehabilitation--United StatesDrugs--PrescribingCrime--New York (State)Swindlers and swindlingMelIn this interview, Mel discusses his life in New York City, with a focus on his drug use. He describes the drug scene in New York City in the early 1930s, and the broad array of people who used drugs at that time. He describes the first time he used heroin, and how he developed an addiction. He discusses the negative attitudes popular among opium users toward heroin users, and compares a typical opium user to a typical heroin user using metrics of class, race, and occupation. He discusses how control of the New York drug trade changed hands from Jewish crime syndicates to the Italian Mafia in the late 1930s. He discusses the drug panic that took place during World War II, and explains how he acquired drugs during this period of scarcity. He describes traveling across the United States with his friends and fellow conmen in the 1940s, and compares the price and availability of drugs between big cities and small towns in America. He describes how he approached doctors to acquire drug prescriptions in rural, southern towns in the 1940s. He details his arrest history, and discusses the conditions in various prisons in which he was incarcerated. Mel discusses various illnesses he contracted from heroin use, such as tetanus, abscesses, and ulcers. He discusses racial discrimination he experienced from the police. He describes how the drug scene in New York has changed from the 1930s to the 1980s. He shares his opinion of the methadone maintenance program