The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-06-21
USERS OF MORPHINE.
THE DRUG RAPIDLY ENLARGlNG ITS
CIRCLE OF VICTIMS.

&3S e%AAASA~Ae W AAAO@ RAAAAAN
women in New York is increasing a:
an alarming rate, said physician
81 do not give the drug at all, save in
extreme cases. for believe we doctors
are largely responsible for the spread
of the evil It seems such an easy, mer-
ciful thing to relieve acute suffering by
dose of morphine, and it would be all
right if the patients couldn't get the
drug themselves They can get it
There's the trouble.
81 was called to see one of my pa
tients last week. She is a wealthy wo-
man She developed the morphine habit
two years ago, when she had a serious
illness. Since then she has had period
ical sprees with morphine, in spite Of
all we could do to prevent her. She al
ways says that the deplorable state she
gets into is due to other causes but !
can tell, as soon as see her, whether
she has been taking morphine. Last
week, when went to see her. she was
a nervous wreck and said she had been
agonizing with rheumatism. Rheuma-
tism is handy thing A doctor can't
swear that patient hasn't got it. l
accused the woman Of having been on
morphine spree. She denied it. [ ap-
pealed to her husband. He searched her
bureau and chifonier and found 300
morphine pills She had bought them
all at one time, but wouldn't tell who
sold them to her.
"Of course there's law against sell
ing morphine except on prescription
but morphine fend can always get it
if he is persistent, and generally he is
so. Any physician can tell a habitual
morphine taker at a glance. So can a
druggist The latter reads the unmis-
taxable signs in mans face and, if he
hasn't a conscience, will sell the NOR
phine victim what he wants. The drug
gist knows that the purchaser will guard
the secret quite as closely as he could.
But, if a person with no symptoms of
the morphine habit wants to buy the
drug. he will probably have great diff
Guilty in getting it. No pharmacist, even
if not particularly reputable, wants to
take the chances of being hauled up for
breach of the law.
II am constantly running across
cases of the morphine habit, especially,
as said, among women. The life they
lead when active socially uses up their
nerves. and they take morphine for neu-
ralgia until they can't get along with
out it. Usually they are ashamed of the
habit and conceal it carefully, but some
times they are quite open about it,
take their morphine regularly and will
not listen to reason. Not month ago a
beautiful young woman showed me
new chatelaine ornament she had just
bought 1t was remarkably handsome
gold case, studded with jewels, and look
ed like vinaigrette. The top opened,
and inside were tiny hypodermic
syringe and tabe of morphine. I said
something more forcible than polite and
tried to make her see the insanity Of
the thing, but she only laughed and
told me she carried morphine pills in
her chatelaine bonbonniere, so that she
would be all right if she happened to be
where she couldn't use the hypodermic,
which she preferred I threatened to
tell her husband, but she said he knew
about it and didn't care. She didn' t
bother him, and he didn' t bother her. l
went to the husband, and be merely
shrugged his shoulders and said he new
er interfered with his wife Then [ re-
lieved my mind again and told him
what | thought of him-and now there
is one family less Oh my list Of patients.
That was an exceptional case, l ad-
nit. Usually relatives and friends of a
person who takes morphine do every
thing possible to break up the habit,
but morphine iend is remarkable for
cleverness 4 great many women who
don t want any one to know that they
have the habit work the physicians for
morphine know women of good fam
lily who never go more than two weeks
without terrible attacks of neuralgia or
rheumatism or something else that
causes excruciating agony. The doctor
is called in and tries to relieve the wo-
man, but nothing relieves her until he
tries morphine If he is clever enough
to see through the thing and too con-
scientious to help out the little farce
he gives up the case. Another doctor is
called in and another. until one pre-
scribes what is wanted That's an old.
old game. Many struggling young
doctor has thought his fortune made
because wealthy woman in bis neigh
borbood called him in. but when she is
seriously iii she goes back to her old
doctor. She only wants the new one to
prescribe morphine for her neuralgia.
There's no excuse in the world tor
doctor acquiring the morphine habit
He knows better Yet some OF the doc
tors do it. One famous old New York
doctor used to take his morphine as
regularly as he took his breakfast, and
whenever he gave hypodermic in!ec.
ton to a patient. he took one himself
while he had the syringe out, just for
eoc;obi1itv s1ppose He never went