The Narcotic Farm: The Rise and Fall of America’s First Prison for Drug Addicts by Nancy D. Campbell, J.P. Olsen and Luke Walden

“From its opening in 1935, the United States Narcotic Farm in Lexington, Kentucky epitomized the nation’s ambivalence about how to deal with drug addiction.  On the one hand, it functioned as a compassionate and humane hospital where addicts could recover from their drug habits.  On the other hand, it was an imposing federal prison built for the incarceration of drug addicts.

The Narcotic Farm tells the compelling story of the institution’s noble rise and tumultuous fall, and includes rare and unpublished photographs, film stills, newspaper and magazine clippings, and government documents, as well as recollections from the prisoners, doctors, and staff who lived and worked there.”

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Interview and Description of The Narcotic Farm on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered (November 1, 2008) …