John Petro

Who is John Petro?

John Petro, called 'The Junkies Friend', was Polish and came to the UK in 1916. During the War he worked as a doctor with Alexander Fleming giving penicillin to the troops. In 1966, having been run down by a car, he was unable to work and soon got into debt, because he was unable to work. He was made bankrupt in 1967. He said he was unable to find premises, so he gave out prescriptions for drugs anywhere. He was thought to be selling prescriptions to addicts. Thus he was called the 'Junkies Friend'. After pleading guilty at Marylebone Magistrates Court, in February 1968, he was fined £1700, and then in May 1968, he was struck off.

But it was his prescription of Methedrine in injectable form, which was a major 'contribution' to the drugs scene, and which produced an epidemic at the time. When he was stopped prescribing any listed dangerous drug, he began to prescribe Methedrine in greater and greater amounts, as this was not then regulated under the Dangerous Drugs Act. This led finally to him being struck off.