The Dickinson press., 1888-08-11
THE DEADLY DRUGS
WHICH ARE COMING INTO USE in
PLACE OF ALCOHOL.

An up town druggist who was spoken to
,hout the subject said: II sell II good deal
of both rhlorofoi'm and ether without pre-.
sciip;ions, but | don't consider that. so long
rs my drugs are not intended for suicidal
employment or murder, | AVE any right to
AK what is going to be done with them. /
know what the law is, but deem that IL drug
:.lst must exercise some discretion in con-
forming to It. Why, n majority of the
things on my shelves, things not commonly
rla>Scd rs poisonS, either, n person could kill
himself with if he were fool enough to take
too much of them. And here's Il respect that
gives us pause when we think of strictly
applying the law. A great many persons are
told by their physicians to take this or that
medicine, do so, find themselves bothered or
cured; subsequently, have II recurrence of the
old symptoms, and, remembering what did
them good before, come around and demand
it. Very possibly the druggist knows them,
understands why they want the drug, or has
sense enough to understand that they arc tell
ing the truth when they make Il frank state
imcnt Of the situation. What is the atoth-
,rary TO do! Even if the man wants Il deadly
poison, he knows how tn take it. wants il tor
II good reason, and is bound to get it some
where. Would my refusing him make him
so off and get 4 prescription! Not much,
unless mine was tho only drug store in town.
Another thing: II don't believe thcl, are any |
people in the world who have such II mania
for treating their " ailments and cxchang-
iuS recipes as Americans have. Every street
is full of men who lave attended medical
lectures with the idea of being doctors, and
who lave abandoned that purpose. but still
think they know enough of medicine" to treat
their own maladies and advise their friends.
An - -- .:.l No. .-.-, 1:,-.:
ton To play every hand for all it is worth,
they have little confidence in anything but
tho most powerful drugs. So from these
variols directions comes n more or less lcgit-
innate and certainly honest demand for my
cold pizen,' and l just Use my WI best
Judgment, in each individual case, about sup
plying it.
II have Il good deal of call for hydrate of
rhloraI, but hardly SO much as Il few wears
ago. when it w;lsu fashion. Bromide of pot
aSsium is also in good. steady. and. ] fancy,
increasing demand among ladies will. veal,
nerves and gentlemen of super runvivial
habits. The rsc of morphine is. | should say,
increasing, while that of laudanum anil thcsI
crude opium is falling off. When ! say use
l mean improper ,lse of course, and when |
speak of II diminished demand for the crude
opium l except the kind used for smoking,
which is altogether different from the medi-
cinal sort. That does not pass through my
hands at all, and about the call for it | know
nothing. Morphine is generally used hypo-
dermically. 1t is now practicable to get q
complete outfit for that vice as cheaply as
scvcnty~tivc cents, and that, together with
certain supposed advantages i'll that method
of administration has popularizcd the habit.
Tens of thousands of persons of whom you
would never suspect it are addicted to the
vice. 'Cocaine? No. There are few or, 1
may say, no demands for it, except from
doctors. some of whom, | regret to say, nave
got into the habit of demanding it altogether
too frequently. Drugs accredited with Il
power of stimulation of the stomach, heart
or nervous system-cSlecially the lattcr-are
more and more commonly used. You would
be astonishcl could you know how many per-
sons have contracted Il habit Of using capsi-
cum, ginger, calisaya, Strychnia, uuininc.
diSitalis, phosphorus, and the thousand and
one nostrums compounded for stimulativo
purposes. ! verify believe that ut least one
person in every hundred i'll the community
has sucll Il confirmed habit. 'Cannabis Indi-
Gus. No. There is but little call for it, even
in prescriptions. for the reason, l think, that
invaluable asst is when fresh, of full strength.
and reliable, its active principle is SO volatile
that You never are sure of what its effects
will bc. Could it be depended upon it would
be one of the least injurious and most agree
able of the intoxicants."
Another druggist said: ~ used to sell a
great deal of narcotic, soporitic and stilnu-
liant drugs while clerking in Il big Broadway
store, but i'll this new place of my own not
much, as yet. No, ] don't suppose it is be-
cause people have Aopped taking them. not
by any means, but silnplyfo the reason that
l have not yet been here long enough for
them to get to know mo and feel that they
can approach me with confidence. Persons
who are habitual users of drugs generally
get to be quite secretive about their vice. You
know. l do, however, sell IL vast deal of u !
very excellent bitter calisaya cordial that l
put up myself; and another preparation, a
tonic, containing phosphorus, stryclmia and
sonc other valuable ingredients. Botb are
sold at my soda fountain, and two out of
every three persons at least of those who call |
for soda will have one or tho other, or some
times both of those preparations. l even
have customers Who stop every morning ;lnt!
get walls of them to take down town to their
offices for use during the day, and WHO stop
ut night and leave the empty walls to be Ip-
filled for the next day. AT night, at lamc.
LutS lltNC us JULIUS w tlilW from III IlCV |
want to keep up their stimulation"
The mention of the opium smokers by tho
preceding druggist suggested the inquiry of
un exceptionally clever literary man, who
was casually met one day ut Huct Sings
store, "whetl,er the breaking up of tho
joints had diminished opium smoking in
New fork:' Not Mt all" lie replied; there
is more of it now than there ever was before.
1t is simply carried on with more secrecy,
that is all. The pale faced barbarian has not
the ghost of Il show to run John Chinamanin
his way. The Mongol is too cunning. If lie
wants to smoke opium he will smoke opium,
and the only way to make him stop it is to
kill him. But it is by no means Cinnamon
alone WHO hit the pipe There are more
Mclean men and women III New York adj
diclcl to the habit than there are Cinnamon
who practice it, and they are by no means
the oifscourings of socicty'-to quote the
pct phrase If the people who want everybody
else to live in their Way Very respectable
men, yes, and women, too, smoke opium.
Aud the Joints are not closed. Those known
10 the police are, it is true, but |, who am |
recognized as one who occasionally hits the
pipe and can he trusted. could show YOU a
dozen places where you might smoke the wad
of Oriental delight i'll any degree of style you
plcased.n
A German druggist, who developed i'll con-
versation a conscirntiou>ncSs almost as big
as his ears or his feet, would not even talk
about the use of drugs otherwise than by pre-
scri;tion, lest he might he violating the law.
He lncw nothing about such things, he said,
and WAS scaldaliZel and mortified bcyond
measure when the writer asked him for some
''l.21g grain strychnia pellets" All he could
sta!nlinr i'll reply was: $50 owitl Go
owit"-Ncw York Sun.
Their" nre in England "a female black
smiths VIII" actually swlrg heavy hammers
aid !.l5> wonle, employed III tan ruak,un