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What the Infamous Heroin Study Said - by Bryan Caplan

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For years, I’ve been hearing rumors of a controversial study of heroin addiction among Vietnam veterans. The gist of the rumors: The vast majority of U.S. soldiers who were using heroin during the Vietnam War quit cold turkey as soon as they came home. Upshot: Addiction — even to heroin — is a choice. I recently decided to track down this infamous study and read it for myself. The study is Robins, Lee, Helzer, John, Hesselbrock, Michie, and Wish, Eric. 1977. “Vietnam Veterans Three Years after Vietnam: How Our Study Changed Our View of Heroin,” Proceedings of the 39th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Committee on the Problems of Drug Dependence, reprinted in 2010 in the American Journal on Addictions. If you start reading the piece, I predict you will finish, because it is elegantly written. Basics facts about the sample Robins et al. (henceforth RHHW) studied: Dr. Jaffe asked me to design and carry out a follow-up study of returning veterans to learn the consequences of heroin use in

What the Infamous Heroin Study Said Bryan Caplan Apr 08, 2025 79 54 6 Share For years, I’ve been hearing rumors of a controversial study of heroin addiction among Vietnam veterans. The gist of the rumors: The vast majority of U.S. soldiers who were using heroin during the Vietnam War quit cold turkey as soon as they came home. Upshot: Addiction — even to heroin — is a choice. I recently decided to track down this infamous study and read it for myself. The study is Robins, Lee, Helzer, John, Hesselbrock, Michie, and Wish, Eric. 1977. “Vietnam Veterans Three Years after Vietnam: How Our Study Ch

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