Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1878-01-25
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FRIDAY MORNING. JAN. 25. 1878.
Local
THE OPIUM-RATERS OF STAUNTON.

THE OPIUM EATERS OF STAUNTON.
STARTLING INCREASE OF THE HABIT
CONFERENCE OF THE DRUGGISTS-THE
WOMEN THE CHIEF UsERs-HOw THEY
GET IT-IMMENsE SALES OF THE DRUG
LEGISLATIVE ACTION WANTED,
&C., &C., sc.
''Her mother IS selling the clothes off'n
her back,'' remarked the colored gentle
man who weighs the rags at the VINDICA-
Ter Office, as a little white girl, neatly
clad, but wearing grown PERSONS shawl /.
received the money for the rags she had
brought and went out. The rag. weigher
was holding up piece of lady's under
wear, of fine make and little worn, which
| he had taken out Of the bag of rags, and he
| explained that the seller was the child Of
an opium-eater, who used the money to
purchase the drug. A reporter was sent
On d circuit of the Staunton druggists,
Wednesday, to learn something of a habit
| to which such an incident as this had so
strongly called attention. They gave
startling accounts of the progress of the
vice.
CONFERENCE OF DRUGGISTS ABOUT IT.
"It Is deplorable," said the first druggist
We approached" but there is no way to
stop it except by a general law and by the
cooperation OF the physicians. Last sum-
mer the druggists here attempted co-opera-
ton, and held conference to that end,
but we found that there is no way of stop
ping it, save by general law and by the
conscientious cooperation Of the physi-
clans. You will hardly believe it, but 1
have one customer, a lady, who uses sixty
grains of opium day. She began it years
before the war. She has been to me for
help to stop it, but there is no outside help
for it. Stopping it is all that can be done.
Reporter-How many regular opium
eaters have you that buy from you?
ssLet's see." said the druggist, pencilling
some names rapidly down on a paper, which
he carefully kept turned from the report
er; 81 can think Of twelve just in this
minute and could recollect more if had
time. Of the twelve, nine are women and
three are men; and of the men, two are
old and one comparatively young The
ladies belong to the better classes.-YOu
see, opium IS expensive and the poorer
people can't afford it. The nine ladies are
all middle-aged except one, who is young.
large majority take it for its pleasant ef-
fects. A physician prescribes it once for
pain; some Of the prescription is left in
the bottle and taken the next time pain
comes, and so they learn the taste. AL
most every artifce that can be thought of
is resorted to to get it without coming in
person for it.
Reporters it on the increase?
Druggist Greatly so. A few years ago
the trade was nothing to what it is now.
One of the worst opium eaters that trades
with me spends as high as 81 day.
GETTING IT BY MAIL.
''We all want something done in the
matter" said the next druggist we visited.
''We had conference about it last sum-
mer but it amounted to nothing. In fact
nothing but a State law would do any
good and that won't be wholly effective as
long as the mails run. We have one lady
customer who used to live here but has
lived for years in Philadelphia, who orders
it from us by mail. If we don't ill her Or
der at once we get shower of letters one
after another. An eighth of grain Of
morphine is dose, but have one lady buy
er who can eat from five to seven grains
day. With non-opium eaters three grains is
fatal. We have customer who uses half
pint of laudanum every twenty-four hours.
In many cases where ladies have become
victims to the habit the heads of the fami-
lies come to us and tell us to let them have
it as it is no use trying to break them of
it,''
"Row many regular opium eaters who
buy here can you think of just now ?"
asked the reporter.
The druggist turned his back and after
figuring moment on a paper said:
II have sixteen that 1 can think of.
Only two of them are men and only one a
young man. The ladies are middle-aged.
You have no idea of the lies they tell to
get more of it. A lady will get a bottle Of
laudanum and send it back to be reflled,
saying that the stopper came out and it
spilled. We have tried to stop the Sale but
it is impossible without general law. If
Staunton druggists closed on them they
could get it from Charlottesville, Harri-
sonburg, or any neighboring city by mail. F"
THE CHURCH NO SAFEGUARD.
sit is awful" said the next druggist we
applied to. "You have no idea how it is
increasing and the number of people who
use it. Some are in the country. One old
gentleman from the country comes here
three TINES week to get it for his daugh-
ter who is victim and who goes mad if
she does not get it. In many cases the
heads Of families in town have come to US
and ordered us to let a member of the fam
lily have it as it is useless to try and keep
it from them. The ladies are the chief
users, they will sell jewelry, provisions,
their very clothing from their backs to get
money to buy it. Some of these victims
are members of the city churches, but will
resort to every conceivable falsehood and
artifce to procure opium. have several
customers in the country. have one Gus
toner in the city who can drink two ounces
of laudanum in a day which is equal to
eight grains of morphine, or eighty grains
of opium. Morphine is the principle of
opiumP'
Reporter many regular opium