The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-08-01
THE DEADLY DRUGS
WHICH ARE COMING INTO USE IN
PLACE OF ALCOHOL.

!. What New York City Druggists Say o
the Subject Tho Mania for Treatin
Ones Own acknowledgements, stimu
Iants and SoporiHcs.
An up town druggist who was spoken :
. about the subject said: ~ sell good dea
Of both chloroform and ether without Ore
, scriptions but don't consider that, 20 Ion,
. rs my drugs are not intended for suicida
employment or murder, have any right t,
+ ask what is going to be done with them.
know what the law Is, but deem that drug
gi5t must exercise some discretion in con
forming to it. Why, q majority Of tn.
things on my shelves, things not commonly
ciassed ~ poisens, either person could kill
himself with if he were fool enough TO take
too iluch of them. And here's a respect that
give; rs 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 bctterad or
cured; subsequently have 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 10 understand that they are tell
Ing the truth when they make frank state
meat Of the situation What is the apoth.
ocary to dol Even if the man wants deadly
| poison, he knows how to take it, wants it for
a good reason. and is bound to get it some
| where. Would my refusing him make him
go off and get prescription Not much,
unless mine was the only drug store in town.
Another thing: Il don't believe there are any
people in the world who have such a mania
for treating their own ailments and exchang
ing recipes u, Americans have. Every street
is fall of men who have attended medical
lectures with the idea of being doctors. and
who have abandoned that purpose. but still
think they know enough of medicine to treat
their own nialadies and advise their friends
And, of course, with the American DISPOSE
ton to play every hand for all it is worth,
they have little confidence in anything but
the most powerful drugs So from these
various directions comes Il more or less legit
innate and certainly honest demand for my
cold pizen,' and | just use my own best
Judgment, in each individual case, about sup |
plying it.
Il have good deal of call for hydrate II |
choral, but hardly so much as n few year, |
ago, when it va; a fashion. Bromide of pot |
assiun is also in good steady, and fancy
increasing demand among ladies with weak |
Eei'vcs and gentlemen OF super convivial |
habits The Use of morphine is, should say,
Increasing, while that Of laudanum and the
crude opium j. falling of. When say use
mean improper Use of course, and when
speak Of diminished demand for the crude
opium | except the kind used for smoking,
which is altogether different from the medi
cinal sort. That does not pas, through my
hands at ali, and about the call for it know
nothing. Morphine is, generally used hypo
dermically. 1t is now practicable to get a
complete outfit for that vice as cheaply as
seyenty-five cents, and that, together with
certain supposed advantages in that method
Of administration, has popuarized the habit.
Tens Of thousands of persons of whom you
would never suspect it arc addicted To the
vice. 'CocaineT No. There are few or,
may say, no demands for it, except from
ioctors some Of whom regret to say, have I
got into the habit Of demanding it altogether |
90 frequently Drugs accredited with t
)ower OF stimulation Of the stomach, heart t
n nervous system-especially the latter-are S
more and more commonly used. You would c
,e astonshed could you know how many Der. {
ons have contracted a habit OF using capsi- 5
UNI, ginger, calisaya, strychnia, quinine, n
igitais, phosphorus, and the thousand and a
ne nostrums compounded for stimulative II
purposes. verify believe that at least one s.
erson in every hundred in the community Il
as such confirmed habit 'Cannabis lndi. "
u.s. No. There is but little call for it, even G.
4 prescriptions, for tho reason, think, that IL
valuable as it is when fresh. of full strength.
nd reliable, its active principle is SO volatile h
rat you never are sure of what its effects b
i'll be. Could it be depended upon it would W
Q one Of the least injurious and most agree. CT
Die of the intoxicants te
Another druggist said: Il used TO sell a SO
reat deal of narcotic, soporifc and stiinu- bl
mt drugs while clerking In big Broadway In
ore, but in this new place of my own net nj
UGH, as yet. No, don't suppose it is be- ht
luse people have stopped taking them, not Isl
any means, but simply for the reason that ca
have not yet been here long enough for pi
EN- 10 get to know me and feel that they
II approach me with confidence Persons "a
DO are habitual users of drugs generally an
t to be quite secretive about their vice YOU an
low. ! do, however, sell vast deal of O err
~ excellent bitter calisaya cordial that | ga
i UP myself; and another preparation, a pr
MI, containing phosphorus, strychnia and pc
me other valuable ingredients Both are riE
VI at my soda fountain aud two out of ms
cry three persons at least of those who call an
+ soda will have one or the other, or some cio
mes both of those preparations. even 20
We customers who stop every morning and oel
vials of them to take down town to their 90
ices for use during the day, and who stop en-,
night and leave the empty Wills to be re
ed for the next day. At night, at home, Gus
y have big bottles to draw from if they ire
mt to keep up their stimulation. les
The mention Of the opium smokers by the i
seeding druggist suggested the inquiry of POI
exceptionally clever literary man, who '''
S casually met one day at Yuet Sings
re, whether the breaking up of the +
nts' had diminished opium smoking in noe
" York; "Not at all" he replied; there ditl
more Of it now than there ever was before. The
is simply carried on with more secrecy, ma