Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-03-22

SOME EXTRA ORDINARY STORIES OF THE ExTRAvA-
CANT USE OF THE DRUG IN VIRGINIA.
f0rrtSpond,Hce IF TIE cincinnati Enquirer.

sOAfE EXTRA ORDINARY STORIES OF THE ExTRAvA-
CANT USE OF THE DRUG IN VIRGINIA.
Cor,pond,hce efHe Cincinnati Enquirer.
SrAuNToN, Va, Feb. y, 1878.
The opium-eating in this vicinity still goes
on and as some cities and some sections
have II reputation for the number of drunk
ards they generate, so Staunton has the name
of being the great opium city of this part Of
the country And it is deplorable TO observe
how the evil has increased. At a conference
of druggists, held day before yesterday, it was
reported that the increase in 1877 over 1876
was % per cent. that 1876 over the preced-
ing year was "a per cent. and that 1873 over
the preceding year was 80 per cent The evil
is like an endemic. 1t is in the atmosphere
1t seizes a person, never to let loose. man
sees another using the terrible drug. and be-
fore he is aware Of it he is eating opium him
self When / telegraphed. three weeks ago,
about the sensation that was created here by
certain developments, not half had been told
1t is true that there have been no deaths equal
to that of the lady who dropped dead from
disappointment because she could not get her
opium but the young man who swallowed II
grains of morphine at a drug store counter,
three or four weeks ago, and lived, took 20
grains at one pop since, and died. He was u
young jew and lad only been victim to the
vice a few years. As | intimated before, the
asyluins here-the lunatic. inebriate and 9TH
ers- consume great deal of morphine in
Legitimate way. but what they Use is only a
drop in the bucket
Nearly 100 pounds Of opium week. That
is what the druggists reported, which is pret-
ty heavy for IA city of 1000 or 1000.
large quantity of the truck sold in Staunton is
bought by country people. for the craving for
it all down the valley is as strong, if not
stronger than it is III the city. Your CORES
pondent has Just visited all of the apothecaries
here. and the tales that they tell are fearful.
See that handsomely dressed English lady
passing on the other side of the street =
Yes" "Wtn, she is one of our best Gus
toners. She commenced to take morphine
about two years ago. She used to send SER
want for quarter grain doses now she uses
four-grain doses" Have you many such
customers as she is - asked the writer. ''Oh.
yes. Let me see, (SIr. Allen counting on his
fingers, We have II regular lady customers
that think of at this moment. who take over
two grains of morphine at time. and II men
who take between two and six grain doses alta
time You think the evil here is on the iu-
crease :" My goodness. Yes Your cor
respondent found Mr.. Tyree waiting on bevy
of dashing girls There were four of them.
and they seemed 10 be sweet sixteens."
When they left the store Mr.. Tyree said:
There they 60; they are some of your OPT
um-eaters." What Those pretty things :"
why, yes they commenced to Use the dan
gerous stuff only a few months ago: now they
each spend 80 a week for it. 1t is sad" he
continued, but there is no stopping them af-
ter they once begin it." At Mr.. John Ben
ner's was informed that two of the eight
leading ministers of the city used opium that
one of them took it in the shape of laudnnum.
But the most startling statement made by any
of the apothecaries was by one Che request
ed Inc not to mention his name) who looked
at his prescription list of last year. and found
that he had sold ~, j93 doses of morphine dur
ing the year.
Mr. FOrman said to the writer You have
no idea what means many ladies use TO get
opium without their families knowing it,.
Are most of your opium customers ladies !"
| asked. Yes, | have about 40 regular lady
customers and about 20 or - male custom
ers. have seen married women come to the
door and send a servant in with the money
they wouldn't come in themselves for fear
they would meet some one who would tell.
Sometimes they buy enough at once to last
for two or three months. | found one lady
buying much opium that thought it would
be an act of charity TO tell her husband. did
tell him. and he said, L know she uses it, but
let her have all she wants ! can't stop her. ,"
Mr. Forman continued: Il collected Il bill
of Sl2j of prominent citizen few days ago.
1t was for opium sold to his wife who died a
month or two ago. | was afraid he would re-
fuse to pay it, but he didn't say word. He
settled without grumbling" The prescrip-
ton clerk at Wayt Il Brothers said that one
of their customers was young lawyer who
drank Il quart of laudanum a week.
Another was book keeper who drank a
L. : L. s.alls Il
upon Dr. H. p. Reese at his office. He is a
man of ~, and is one of our leading physi-
clans He told me that he had been trying to
get some legislation passed on opium for over
"A year The member from this district had
promised to prepare bill for the House of
Delegates levying heavy tax on opium, but
he had not yet presented it. Dr. Reese
thought the druggists We're wrong to sell
opium. He said he never prescribed it ex-
cept in very exceptional cases. Dr. Murphy
thought the hell-punch used in bar-roOms,
which levies tax of D cents drink, had
driven many poor people to use opium. Dr.
Dilkes attributes the spread of the opium evil
to the fact that all of the pulmonic remedies
contain large share of opium.
DIR. Taylor agreed with the druggists that
the evil was on the increase not only in Staun-
ton, but all along the valley. He thought the
preachers ought to preach against it. But
! then" he observed, lone Of the parsons him
self uses opium to excess" All the junk-deal-
ers and pawnbrokers have much to tell Il
believe she would sell the last rag off her
back, said old Lloyd, but what she would
have opium" This remark was addressed TO
| a small, ragged child who had just brought
the Junk dealer nice shawl. 1t seems that
the girl was frequent visitor at Lloyds, and
came to sell things for a lady who was once
wealthy, but who had been reduced to penury
by her extravagant craving for opium. The
| Junk dealer said that she used to send silk
| dresses to the pawnbrokers, but now she had
come down TO selling things the pawnbrokers
would not take. Isaac Harris, pawnbroker,
told the writer that most of his watches and
rings had been left by young gentlemen who
were well-lnown opium-eaters.
"Something must be done, said Mr.. Mark
land an elder of the church. The evil is
one of the saddest / ever beheld. The church
doesn't seem 10 be any safeguard, for be-
lieve that half the church members in town
are addicted to the deplorable habit in ques-
ton" At the meeting of citizens held some
days ago a resolution was passed requiring
druggists not to sell opium unless ON doc
| tors prescription, but the druggists said they