The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-12-02
MORPHINISM.

-" AZ "StOulSAlll5 lLidI IiiS RN|fAS 49,
this commonwealth, and, in fact, all
over the entire globe, are so ignorant OF
the fact of 'morphinlsm" and the enor-
nifty Of it's practice. Statistics can fur
nish no definite idea Of it's percentage,
as all habitues Of the morphine prac-
| tice invariably are to be classified under
the scriptural verse, "All men are IL
arsi" and if one should start out to
compile a truthful report in regard to
| the above curse, he would return with
clean sheet Of those who voluntarily
confessed themselves slaves to the per-
nicious drug.
| 1t is interesting to discover the nl-
| cleus of the habit and also the most IA
vorable conditions and beings that give
1t birth. One startling fact has assert
| ed itself after many years of research,
and one to be deplored in this enlight-
ened nineteenth century The physi-
| clan, in whose hands Is the health and
prosperity of nation, has SO often
| feared to lose the faith and patronage
of many Of his patients, who, suffering
from chronic ills and aches, though pa
tient in name but not in deed, soothes
their pains by, what he deems, harm
less doses of the drug; thereby gaining
their esteem and favor, but adding to
| the list, nine times out Of ten, another
| poor, weak, unreliable and miserable
morphine fiend.
But it would be unjust to place the
| stigma of "morphinism'' in its awful
entirety upon the physician, although
he in a sense is responsible for great
er share than can be attributed else
where.
The nucleus of the habit certainly
| finds its greatest hold in disease and
| weakness, but many times is reared in
wilfulness and carelessness. Trouble
and disappointment; sickness and af-
Fiction; idleness and wealth; all these
seem to be the "hot-beds" Of the dis
ease. 1t has no cliques 1T prefers, or
boasts Of no ancestry; rich and poor,
king and pauper, are all on an equal
footing and together foster and nourish
morphinism.
The most favorable conditions cannot
be enumerated. They are too many;
although the pauper would not become
such an easy victim to the drug as one
of more ample means. And as to those
beings who give it birth, the scope Of
mankind in general would be included,
though men Of letters, the so-called
brain workers" seem to be in the ma
jority of 'morphinites."
One often hears the remark, 1--WE
know there are great many "mor-
phine-eaters," but I've never seen or
met one" And this statement is not to
be wondered at. Few physicians can
| u Id,
habitue. But there are many symp-
toms and eccentricities which cannot
fail to reveal themselves in every case.
The unfortunate lives in a dream world
of his own; that is, while his appetite
for the drug is appeased he seems to
float in space; he plans visionary
schemes and conquests; he relates per-
sonal anecdotes and adventures which
have never occurred, except in his own
disordered imagination and finally he
commences to believe them himself and
would show marked disapproval should
one essay to disbelieve or contradict
him. His general appearance is sloth-
full and uncouth. His eyes resemble
those Of confirmed drunkard, only
possessing great deal less of bright
ness. The extremities are always cold
and clammy while under the influence
Of the drug. In sum total you may pic
ture a limp, repulsive, anaemic and
sleepy individual without a seeming
care for what the world holds out to
him.
But remove the cause or in some way
deprive him Of the drug and you find a
sudden and startling transition. His
languor is gone; the extremities are hot
and dry; respiration becomes short and
hurried; drops of perspiration gather
on the forehead and lips; the eyes as
sumo an unnatural size and become di-
lated to a frightful extremity; the en-
tire body quivers and shakes as one in
great dread and the previous morbid
and seemingly dormant mass of clay
becomes intensely alive and agitated.
There is but one cry now;
one thought; one prayer; "Morhpia!"
Should none be at hand or easy to OBJ
tain, the anguish of that agitated frame
cannot be depicted. Every faculty is
now concentrated in one channel, 1. e.,
how to possess the requisite amount of
the drug. Honest and sincere charac-
tiers in such moment are rapidly trans
formed into thieves and liars; lips that
had never before uttered profanity now
reek with blasphemies ana cries against
the existence Of a divine being; in fact,
all that is gross, animal or brutal in
man is now portrayed in hideous splen-
dor.
But scenes like these are few now,
owing to the many compact ways NOR
phine is prepared. 1t may be obtained
in any pharmacy, say, without fear of
contradiction in any quantity desired.
: Many physicians have told of cases un-
: der their care where they purchased the
: pills or hypodermic tablets in "thou-
sand lots" SO as to receive the custo-
mary rebate and thus save considera-
BILE for the pocket of the victim, and so
1t often happens that as many as two or
three hundred pills or tablets can be
carried on the person without inconven-
fence or fear of detection.
The use Of the hypodermic syringe is
not the most common method for TAX
ing the drug into the system, as 1t en-
bodies certain amount of necessary
preparation and personal discomfort.
Possibly one-quarter of the entire num-
Der who use morphia employ the aid of
the hypodermic method, while the other
portion use the mouth. One might go
on indefinitely and describe the misery,