Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 508 › Conversation 508-004

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on Drug abuse and Heroin

Wednesday, June 2, 1971 · 8:55 AM–9:20 AM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation508-004 on Tape 508 (tape position 00:08:01–00:09:17)StartWednesday, June 2, 1971 at 8:55 AMEndWednesday, June 2, 1971 at 9:20 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 508-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictated a memorandum to Egil “Bud” Krogh, Jr., tasking him with gathering reliable data on the correlation between marijuana use and subsequent heroin addiction. He directed Krogh to leverage research held by federal agencies, specifically identifying the National Institute of Mental Health and its director, Dr. Bertram S. Brown, as key sources. The President’s objective was to acquire concrete statistics to bolster his administration’s drug policy messaging.

  • Drug abuse
  • Heroin
  • Marijuana
  • Egil Krogh
  • National Institute of Mental Health
  • Bertram S. Brown
  • Policy research

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 65% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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If you read some kind of a study in parentheses, don't make a capital case on this.
Just try to get me some reliable information that I can use to help with those parentheses.
On the percentage of heroin addicts who started on marijuana.
as compared to the percentage of heroin addicts who use marijuana.
I'm sure this must be in the files of one of the agencies and it is not desperately wrong with the research that's in the agencies.
Brown and the National Institute of Mental Health
Should even have this number.
All right.

NARA Description

On June 2, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 508-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 508-004

Date: June 2, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:55 am and 9:20 am
Location: Oval Office

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

The President dictated a memorandum to Egil (“Bud”) Krogh, Jr.

     Drug abuse studies
          -Heroin addicts who started on marijuana
          -Federal agencies as sources of information
          -Dr. Bertram S. Brown, director, National Institute of Mental Health

Also recorded on June 2, 1971

  • 508-001 8:55 AM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.
  • 508-002 8:55 AM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.
  • 508-003 8:55 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.
  • 508-005 8:55 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.
  • 508-006 8:55 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.
  • 508-007 8:55 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.
  • 508-008 8:55 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.
  • 508-009 8:55 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:55 am and 9:20 am.

All 42 conversations from June 2, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 508-004, June 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/508-004 (accessed September 26, 2026).