National Republican., 1883-03-10
DRUGS THAT INJURE.
DR.. D. W. PrentisS's Lecture at the Y. NJ g. A.
Rooms.
Interesting Facts ms TO the Use OF Opium
and Chloral.

Interesting Facts ms 10 the Use OF Opium
and Chlora1.
DR.. d. w. Prentiss lectured last night at
the YIN. G. AIS rooms on The Improper Use
Of the Narcotics, Opium and Choral" The
lecturer said he had prepared his paper ex-
pressly to sound the alarm about this terrible
and rapidly increasing habit of using opium
and chloral. Beginning with opium, he
showed the audience gOod-sized lump of the
gum opium, whose well-known odor was soon
diflused through the room. IL is, he said, de-
rived from the poppy plant-the papdrer SOM
nUerd, or sleep-bearing poppy, very much like
the garden poppy, but larger He exhibited
pictures of the three varieties of opium poppy
and described the manner of getting
opium by making an excision in the
capsules of the plant. Opium is the con-
creted juice of the sleep-bearing poppy
The preparations of opium in most common
use are the gum opium, laudanum, and NOR
phia, the latter being the active principle of
opium. Paregoric, the camphorated tincture
of opium, altho ugh much in use in household
practice, is not strong enough for the victims
of the habit. Much harm was done to the
susceptible nervous systems of children by its
frequent use. The gum opium and lauda-
mum were the preparations formerly in most
use by the victims of the habit But morphia,
eight times as strong as the gum opium,
was more convenient to carry and was more
extensively used. He exhibited a small bottle
containing 60 grains, which would last the
average opium user week, about ten grains
day being his average consumption. The
full medicinal dose of morphia was one-sxth
of grain, hence the opium drunkard con-
sumod go times the medical dose daily. There
were three ways in which the habit might be
contracted By curiosity, as substitute for
alcohol, and by its use rs u medicine.
The fascinating and brilliant De Quincy
has probably been the greatest single cause of
leading men to this habit. His Confessions
of an Opium Eater" however, are fanciful
and untruthful. Medical students are some
times led by curiosity to the habit. 1t is
used among the poorer classes, especially in
England as n stimulus. The laudanum trade
in England is enormous. In tho large cities,
notably Liverpool, many gallons are sold
every Saturday night. Shop girls, factory
operatives, washerwomcn and others are the
purchasers. The same is true to less OK
tent in this country. Even in Washington
there is scarcely drug store that has
not several regular opium customers. The
amount Of opium exported into this country in
1881 was 1854 pounds, worth about S2,500,-
600. There was "a city in the United States
Pile; now il has d. 900. There was used then
in that city $50 pounds opium and 375 ounces
morphine; now the city uses $500 pounds OF
opium and $500 ounces morphine. That is
206 grains of opium and 2i grains of morphine
to each inhabitant. The question arises,
what becomes of the opium Only small
portion is used in legitimate medicine. much
larger proportion is used in patent medicines
There is scarcely q cough remedy or sooth.
ing sirup that does not contain opium
Many children are annually killed by the
opium in soothing sirup. The great bulk of
opium is used by opium drunkards. There
are three women opium drunkards to one
man. Men are moro subject to the vice be-
tween 30 and so years of age, women between
90 and 60. Knowing these facts physicians
are very cautious in prescr ibing opium fol
women.
The method Of taking opium in this country
and England used to be by the mouth
Opium smoking is practiced in some coun.
tries, notably in China, where it is as uni
versal as the use of alcohol and tobacco in
this country. He showed the kind of pipe
used in opium smoking, and described the
way the opium is prepared. The modern
and civilized method of using opium was by
tho hypodermic injection, a specimen of the
hypodermic syringe being exhibited. The
hypodermic syringe was discovered in 1Si;
in Edinburg by DIR. Andrew Wood ant
was brought to this country in 1915 by DIR
Fordyce Barker, but did not come il
general use until ten or twelve years after
1t is ono of the great medical inven
tions, and by its use pain can be sub
dued in two minutes, which by the ole
methods required n half hour or more
Sometimes assesses i1Fm from the injection
In the case of an opium drunkard, who ha
used it perhaps thousand times, an absces,
for every injection sometimes suddenly sup
purates, and the patient left in IL horribl,
condition. There is also danger of opening
vein into which the injection of opium may
prove fatal. Four-ffth of the opium drunk
ards now apply it simultaneously. Th,
habit has two stages-the pleasant one anC
the painful. The latter is a veritablc hell
There is only one method of treatment, b,
seclusion in hospital or retreat un
der the complete control Of n physician
! Opium is at once removed iron
the patient, all means of suicide
taken away, an attendant always present
concentrated and nutritious diet admins
tered, baths, electricity, and nervincs pre-
scribed. Time for cure is one to three months
After cure the patient must shun opium
The true remedy, however, is prevention
| Chloral, which is an agent something simila
to chloroform, was discovered i'll 1882 b.
Liebig, and is made by the action of chlorin
on alcohol. 1t does not relieve pain, but pro
duces sleep. The habit is not so easily forme
as opium and is easier to break. 1t is NOR
dangerous to life, and oftener produces in
sanity. 1t paralyzes the heart, which is tn
end generally of the chloral user. The lee
turer cited several cases which had com
under his observation in this city wher
death or insanity had overtaken the chlora
drunkards.