Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-12-13
SALE OF HARMFUL DRUGS.
The Matter to Come BefSre the Legis-
lature.

laJure.
"The insIdious encroachments that
are being made upon the vitality O
this city by the unbrldled aud, ! may
say, criminal disposal by dealers Ia
morphine, opium and similar life-sap-
ping drugs, is horrible TO contemplate, u
said a well-known doctor Of extensive
practice to a Telegram representative
today. "Its growth is 30 alarmingly
steady that during the ensuing session
Of the legislature the enactment of q
very stringent law will be petitioned
for, so as TO curb the indlscriminate sell
ling or giving away Of all deleterious
drugs to minimum degree, The
ravsges of q contagious or an infectious
epidemic are dwarfed into insiguifi.
canoe in comparison with the havoc
created by the absolutely senseless NOR
phine habit, which seems to have
fastened upon all clases in this city, as
we'll as elsewhere. The higher ele
ment becomes its victim because OF the
carelessness or Indifference on the part
of some physicians who prescribe NOR
phine to relieve pain, and the unsus-
pecting patient easily falls prey to its
seemingly irresistible enslaving quail
ties. Then the lower stratum of hu.
man nature takes the drug because Of
It's inherant viciousness.
"There Is now u law on the statute
books Of the state Of Oregon which rem.
ders any one liable to prosecution for a
misdemeanor who sells, or In any man.
ner disposes to another, morphine,
opium, cocana and kindred prepara-
tions, unless the act is warranted by a
prescription signed by regularly quail
flied physician. Practically this law
is dead letter, for am sure not one
violation of it in thousand has been
prosecuted since its enactment. 1 de-
sire the passage of law that will rem
der the indIscriminate vender of these
poisons q felOn, and further, that re-
putable infornlers be paid a reward for
each conviction had under the law.
This, / believe, will have q greater
tendency to bride the criminal sale of
such drugs than anything that has yet
been suggested. There are no few drug
gists in Portland occupying enviable
business and social positions, now doing
a thriving traffic in contrabaBd delete
rious drugs, who would abandon 1t II
they kn,w its continued prosecution
would be at the peril of their good
standing by being confined In The PEN
itentiary.
"This traffic does not fall short of
manslaughter, when one looks about
him on the street and sees the many
physical, mental and moral wrecks IL
has produced. 1t has undermined the
respectable status and happy fu-
ture OF many and many young wo-
man In this city, and the amount of
energy and ambition 1t has snapped
from young men here 1t is difficult to
approximate even. At this time / am
treating five members Of 30 many re-
spectacle families here who became
adicted to the use Of morphine Just
through the carelessness Of physicians
prescribing for them while the victims
were sick. -Four OF these cases ] am
about 10 abandon rs absolutely beyond
redemption. These patients, before
their enslaVement, were among the
most promising young people here; ana
now they are mental aud physical
wTecks,u
In conclusion this physician says
that he believes that the petition 10 be
presented 10 the legislature for the pas
sage Of an iron clad law regulating the
morphine aud opium tTafiie In Oregon
will carry the names Of 200 OF the most
feputsbls physicians IN the state, A
number Of those gentlemen will be AT
salem when the bill IL introduced, tO
lsld u thslf moral support, Portland
Telegram,