The Mankato free press., 1894-10-19
BANE OF NARCOTICS.
INGENUITY CONSTANTLY AT WORK
TO DEVISE NEW DRUGS.

DR.. Lyman B. Sperry makes a comfort
able living by giving popular lectures on
the subject of narcotics. For more than
20 years he has been studying the proper
ties of such drugs and their effects. He
began his work when the Minnesota state
board of education decided to provide in
struction ON the evil effects of strong
drink, and he was sent to coach the teach
ers and prepare the textbooks. Aside
from the moral aspect of the subject he
found that both teachers and pupils were
interested in the forms in which various
drugs were prepared and the degrees and
differences in effect. In this way he was
led to give public lectures upon the sub
ject.
While discussing the subject in gen.
eral way DR.. Sperry told reporter that
corps Of experts could not follow the ra-
pidity with which narcotics were put upon
the market in novel and ingenious forms
1--WE seem to be living in an age" he
said, when drunkenness has become q
national disease and is paralyzing the ener-
gies of our people. l mean to apply the
term drunkenness so as to include the
opium and choral habits and the newer
and more fashionable habit of using the
thousand and one powders and fluids sold
at drug stores under the names of pyrines
and febrines, calisayas, etc. l would place
the cigarette habit among the most harm
full, because it certainly leads to mental
exhaustion and thence to the use of more
powerful narcotics
According to DR.. Sperry, the cunning
of man seems to have been turned of late
toward the preparation of opium in insid-
ious forms. When student at medical
college, he made a speciality of chemistry
and he now employs his spare time in an
alyzing new headache powders, cough mix
lures, cigarettes, patent medicines and
candies, Just to see, % he explains, ''how
the devil is keeping up with the times. -
1t was Charles Lamb who said, IF glass
of ardent spirits stood before me, and 1
knew that eternal misery were the price of
drinking it, could not let it alone.''
Nowadays the art of Disgusting the spirits
has progressed SO that a person may get
the effects and incidentally the misery
later without knowing exactly what is
happening
No two individuals are influenced in
precisely the same manner and to precise
ly the same degreee by any one of the mar
cotics and no two of the narcotics pro-
duce precisely the same effect on any one
individual. The ingenuity of man is
therefore very busy devising the form of
narcotic that will produce the most desir
able effect. An amount of opium-say
two grains-which produces in one person
profound Inconsistencies, closely coun-
terfeiting sleep, may render another per-
son excitedly wakeful, while third may
not be noticeably influenced by it in any
way. DIR. Sperry claims that physicians
have been innocently to blame in two
ways for the spread of the use of narcotics
In the first place, they start the morphine
or liquor habit by prescribing anodynes
containing the drugfor insomnia and nerv
BUSINESS. In the second place, they have in
troduced persons directly to narcotism by
utterly mistaking the composition and
effects of new drugs said to be harmless.
"a few years ago." said Dr. Sperry,
1.-THE best physicians of our country were
in an ecstasy of delight over the discovery
of chloral At last they thought they had
found a drug that would soothe irritated
nerves and leave no unpleasant effects,
something that would stimulate the nerv-
Gus system without deranging any of the
organs Of the body. The discovery had
been known but very short time before
chloral was commonly prescribed by ply
sicians all over the country. There was
terrible awakening when it was discov-
cred that the chloral habit followed close
upon the physicians prescription.
II do not think the habit is quite So
common as it was, because chloral fiends
soon take to opium to secure a more per-
feet deadening of the nerves. The physi-
clans who indorsed it's use as a method of
allaying pain were nevertheless response
BILE for the results Afterward came the
discovery of cocaine, and again it was
thought that the ideal drug had been
found for certain purposes. In precisely
the same way the cocaine habit followed.
The difference is that the cocaine makes
its victims insane instead of producing
the long years of lingering suffering from
the use of opium.
Nov we have physicians prescribing
new sedative powders which are introduc-
ed almost weekly. 1t is said that these
drugs leave no bad effects. have found
that in most instances the effects are not
observable for SOME time. A person with
a bad headache or troubled with insomnia
may take one of the many powders that
go under the name of pyrines, etc., and
experience very grateful relief The pains
disappear, long and refreshing sleep fol-
lows and the person is ready for solid
work. The same remedy, which can be
purchased at all drug stores without
physicians prescription, is used again and
again when the nerves are to be quieted.
There can be but one end, and that is
complete shattering of the nervous sys-
tenn, which leaves an easy route to the
opium and morphine habits.
1.-The advertisements in street cars,
newspapers and druggists windows would
indicate that there is an epidemic of men,
tai and nervous exhaustion among the |
American people. The cause is not over
work, as the advertisements say, but the |
carelessness and ignorance of our people |
in using alleged remedies which aggravate |
the trouble and cause a general breaking |
down. If it were possible to have law |
an analysis of all these nervines
to be printed on the labels, there would I
be less talk about the disposition of the |
people of this country to work themselves
into early graves.
1.-THE process known as 'bracing' should |
be called poisoning. People of intelli- |
gence and self respect seldom Intentional
ly take enough of a narcotic to render
themselves incapable of rational, volun-
tary action, but SO deluding and so de- !
structive of the power of self control is
the influence of narcotics, SO easily is the
reason dethroned and the will paralyzed
by them that for some persons to take {