The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-05-15
The Cocaine Habit.

excel even morphlnlsm In the 1nsld-
iousness Of it's growth, in blasting
destructiveness and in the number Of
it's victims. Under the influence of
cocaine, the subject seems to enjoy
renewal of youth. Capacity for labor
is augmented, and the need Of sleep
much diminished. The occasional
use of cocaine leaves highly Elusive
impression on the unprofessional mind,
producing pleasant sensations, inspir.
ing courage and causing q general
feeling of exuberant vitality, with
apparently no unpleasant after effects
but while the immediate action Of
cocaine is more animating and agree
able than that Of morphine, it is not
nearly so enduring, and the bitter
seoueln are manifested earlier and in
a form far more disastrous than in
morphine intoxication. Cocaine hab
itues are utterly unreliable and disre-
gard all personal appearance, going
about unkempt, bedraggled and for.
lorn. While under the influence Of
the drug they feel equal to any task,
forget the past, cherish hopes for the
future, are happy and obvious to their
sad condition. Without it they are
nervous, maniacal, morose and even
dangerous. The cocaine habit is a
swift road to destruction. and leaves
in its wake blight most terrible to
hoho1d
The growing prevalence Of this vice
is largely due to the greatly. reduced
price of cocaine, occasioned by i'm
provements in the process Of extract
ing it from the crude drug. Less than
ten years ago, cocaine was worth IS
cents a grain !; it can now be bought at
the rate of two grains for five cents:
Several distinct causes result in the
acuuirement of this habit. Prominent
among these is the pernicious practice
of certain class Of druggists (fortu-
nately small in number) who offer
cocaine when asked for something that
will relieve toothache, neuralgia and
countless other aches and pains. 1t
is impossible to estimate the ruinous
effect of such recklessness. To the
chronic sufferer, cocaine proves at
first an inestimable boon; but the first
dose breeds an Unsuitable and almost
insuperable appetite, and with this
comes all the trickery and depravity
Of an experienced victim. Misery and
the bitterness of remorse would fill
the soul of the druggist who is so
rashly Indifferent as to incur this
responsibility, had he sufficient imag-
ination to see before him panorama
of the degradation, suffering and ruin
for which he has become chargeable.
In some way the erroneous notion
has come to prevail that, in treating
the morphine habit. cocaine is OF
great value, counteracting the effects
Of the morphine. Proceeding on this
principle, numberless quacks have
claimed ability to cure the morphine
habit. The unfortunates whom they
have succeeded in deluding are perhaps
cured of the morphine habit, but in
its stead they become cursed with a
vice far more ruinous than all their
former ills. Cocaine may counteract
the effects Of morphine, but when the
action of the cocaine is exhausted the
system demands greatly increased
quantities of morphine, and this in
turn produces desire for more and
more cocaine. To use cocaine for
curing the morphine habit is like
jumping from the frying pan into the
fire.
Another class of victims comprises
those to whom cocaine has been ad-
ministered in minor surgical opera
tions, and who, remembering its
exhilarating effects, subsequently, OBJ
tain and use the drug to their ruin.
Some, ignorant of its possibilities
for injury, begin this habit yoluntari-
ly; others are led into it by what seems
to them necessity and others, again,
are innocently beguiled into it by the
influence of environment and friends.
The cocaine habit is apparently In
durable, unless the subject possesses
powerful will and renounces the use
of the drug ere its vicious effects are
manifest. After the habit is once ac-
uuired, the system Graves the drug
much as the body Graves food. When
this drug hunger is not grati6ed, the
habitue suffers all the consequences OF
natural starvation, until his system
recovers its normal condition. With
overwork or any mental strain the era
wing for the drug returns, and is repel!-
ed only with the utmost difficulty. Each
dose creates demand fora larger dose
the next time, and point is seldom
reached where q constant quantity
produces uniform results.
A single instance will illustrate the
terrible possibilities of this drug. A
prosperous young lawyer, being very
much everworked and in great demand,
sought renewal Of his exhausted ener-
gies in cocaine. For a long time this
served him remarkably well, stimula-
ting his energies and producing an
appearance of renewed vitality. Pres
emily his system failed to respond to
the usual quantities of the drug then
began gradual increase in the dose,
with simultaneous reduction in the
effect. Finally the drug seemed to
lose all potency, and the subject was
completely prostrated. Under skill
full treatment he recovered after a
time and appeared to be restored, but
with returning labor and anxiety came
the old craving and morbid desire foI
stimulus. This he resisted with all
| energy, but to no avail. An extreme
hunger prevailed in his system, and
he could have no peace until this was
satisfied. Notwithstanding his former
experience, one night he stole from
his home and satisfied his longing
with cocaine. Pleasant thoughts and
blissful dreams were the result. And
thus he sustained himself from day tc
day. By stealth his wife obtained
some of the drug, and, finding exhila
ration in it's use, continued to admin
lister it to herself, guarding her secret
from her husband. To-day one is 8
raving maniac and the other is behinc
the bars, clamorous for cocaine
Albert N. Doerschuk, IN Bulletin o.
Pharmacy.
"A happy misouotation by young