New-York tribune., 1890-04-13
FAMOUS INJECTION =

T.NrOUS INJECTIONS.
Two men-a doctor ripe in experience ana
,ewspaper man ripe with pencil. paper ana nun
pry brain-met at Fifth-ave. ana i"en'S seventh m
ona s,ool, hands victoria passed The
S...nr ,a,od hard at its handsome occupant.
,ro,ohod her ont Of sight and drew long sigh
~ono Of tho victims, he said. half sadly, shak-
H.. ~ haod aud would have passed on If the
other had not checked hln'
~Wbv Doctor, what can you mcan' Don't
,o, l,rov that woman is the wlie OIL
yes YES. | know her-that is to say used to
,o,,, 1or Everybody knows her. everybody
,bst,s ANYBODY but few know her real character
sho,s ono Of the victims. By and by the world
will begin TO find it OUT
Victim? Victim of what, Doctor 2
4, woman Of any social standing can be vic
tim Of but two things rum and opium That
woman may be victim of both. / know she is
q victim of the latter"
ais il possible? One would never have sus
rcctcd il. she looks so youthful and healthy and
fresh"
How ought victim of the opium habit to
look. do Won think Old, wrinklcd, emaciated?' %
And hollow-eyed and yellow and cadavcrous
and all that
a popular error very large portion Of
those who use opium habitually and largely do
not suffer al all in the body; the contrary they
sre less liable to our cOuntrys common ailments
fever and rhumatism; their consumption of food
is more moderate, the appetite being less keen;
and they seem really TO be less liable TO the ills
that flesh is heir to. In very numerous instances
they attain 10 old age of hale natur."
Then the opium habit is a very desirable
thing, after all
No. Come. sit down with me- Here's the
Brunswick Well have lunch and little talk
They found table in a quiet corner of the
cafe, and over the tea-cups the doctor talked
with unusual freedom.
The opium habit is not a good thing he
said. 1t is more to be countenanced than
dram drinking. l scarcely know which is the
worse. i have just remarked that large por-
ton of those who use opium habitualy do not
suffer at all in the body, l did not mean for
you 10 understand that they do not suffer in the
mind. The effect of the use of opium on the
minds Of those habitually taking it is very dele
terious The takers of large doses become per-
fectly useless TO themselves and others during
their own happy or terrible dreams. All
rendered less useful members Of society. The
indolent naturally become quite inert, and those
who must work do so with far less spirit aud
energy than they otherwise would
Vet they do not suffer bodily"
Some do, many do, and their su1erings are
very great, though decidedly dangerous effects are
rare. Where injury does result, a state OF dys
pepsia first appears with obstinate constipation.
After a few years diarrhoea supervenes. This
diarrhoea seems TO depend on partial paralysis Of
the sphincters and muscular tissue of the intes
tines. Great emaciation and general paralysis
precede death"
THE VARIOUS FORMS OF INDULGENCE
II have heard, doctor, that every opium smoker
may calculate upon shortening his life years
from the time he begins the practice"
II have not concerned myself much with opium
smoking, though l know that it is practse1 10
an amazing extent My observations have been
confined 70 the use of the drug among the better
classes Only the low, the vulgar, the dissoue
are 10 be found in opium Joints, up against the
pipe or hitting the pipe the saying goes
Respectable people avoid such places and such
society, and use the drug in ON entirely different
way
What are the various preparations used, doc
Ar?"
There are four ways Of taking it. Some Of
the old stagers, victims Of the habit for many
years, chew the gum opium just as q man chcws
tobacco, except that they swallow the saliva,
whereas the tobacco chcwer does motif lie can
avoid it, Gum opium, or crude opium, is o dark
brown substance soft, plant. sticky. 1t has
pleasant odor and doesn't taste very bad. You
know it is simply the gum OF the white poppy,
and IL that condition we import it in large quan
titles. Some victims drink paregoric 10 appcasc
their appetite for the drug, but only when they
can't get it in any other form, for paregoric con-
tains so small percentage Of the active principle
Of opium that q person would have TO drink
several bottles to give him any agreeable scnsa-
tons. Laudanum is a favorite vehicle for taking
it, being simply tincturc of opium. Two and
half ounces of opium, a pint or alcohol ana
pint OF water; mix well. Here you have your
laudanum Ten or twelve drops make an average
dose in ordinary cases of illness. Many of these
opum-caters take ! 900. | know man who
takes 1000 drops day, and still is not happy.
The quantity Of opium used by individuals Is often
very great; but, as in the of alcoholic nuldS,
there is O period up 10 which the dose must be
gradually augmented 70 an acme, and beyond this
must be again diminished in quantity by the con-
sumer, the effects resulting still. Think OIL
DeQuinccy. Think Of Coleridge. There arc two
examples for you. Both scholars and men o.
genius: both slaves TO the use of opium. To
such an extent did DcQunccy carry the banefu
habit that in the meridian stage Of his career his
daily ration was 5000 drops OF laudanum lie
had tried the gum opium. and found that II re-
quired length of time TO expand its effects
sensioly, whereas the tncturc, laudanum, mani
ies'ed us presence instantancously. Pccuniaiy
difficulties at length embarrassed him. and. en-
ieeoied by opium, he sank into Il state OF misery
ana torpor lie first took laudanum as cure
ior toothache. Much OF Cocrdge's life was spent
IN poverty and dependence. amid disappointment
and ill-health, and in the irrcguarity caused by
an unfortunate and excessive use Of opium, which
VraIlnIzed over him for many years with IN
relenting severity Amid daily drudgery for the
periodical press and in nightly dreams, distem-
pered and feverish, he wasted the prime and man
hood Of his intellect
But the most popular method Of taxing
OPIUM Is by subcutaneous injections OF soln-
uon OF sulpaaie Of morphine. Morphine. you
know, Is the narcotic principle Of opium Good
opium Contains about 3 per cent Of morphine.