Evening star., 1901-11-14

with patients by their private connection
of doctors. Others advertise as regularly
In medical papers as great hotels do in
ordinary organs.
The cocaine habit has not reached the
common people. l doubt If in all the loug
list of victims in England you will find A
single mechanic or working woman. 1t is
people to whom ordinarily drunkenness is
repulsive that narcotism appeals in the
most subtle way. A few doses of cocaine
enable the busy society woman o get
through her season all right, and she can
maintain this habit often enough for
months together without even those near
est her knowing it.
Cocaine injection is not the only nor 5he
most popular form of narcotism in this
country. In great districts in the north Of
ireland ether drunkenness is general, even
among the poorest. You can get drunk on
ether for a trifiing cost, and you can be
drunk and sober again several times In
day. In the Fen country opium taxing Is
common among the agricultural population
| Opium Is primarily used there as a prevcn-
tive against ague, and some of the, amounts
consumed sound almost Incredible Chem
lists will tell you of farmers who come in
on market day and call for their wtneglass
fulI OF laudanum, and drink it unmoved
vi course, this can only be done after many
years of hardening to the drug for n yery
small portion of such a dose would kill an
ordinary man. Among middle-class women
all over the country chlorodyne takers may
De found. ChlOrodyne has sprung into pJp.
uiarlty owing to the ease with which car
be obtained. For most narcotics you must
nave doctors prescription, but for chlo-
rodyne you need none. This habit S very
expensive, though not nearly so much so
as cocaine. An average expenditure of 16s
a week is the most l have been able to
come across by a woman on the chlorodyne
or morphia and chloral there is little need
70 speak. The list of morDhia victims in
| this country, If it could be given, would be
amazing. Morphia. like cocaine takes most
hold of the cleverest people
Dangerous Drugs Disguised.
But so long as these drugs go under
their own names their harm is to a certain
extend limited. A great danger is when
they are disguised by greedy sellers as
harmless preparations Some delightful
French tonics largely used by ladies who
would scorn whisky, and who look on
brandy as an abomination, are nothing but
pure spirits of wine favored. Many bit
ters," soothing syrups and cough syrups,
largely sold under fancy Names contain
great proportions of opium. Worst Of all
are many so-called cures for the drug
habit" Some of these 1t is true are quite
harmless and useless, powdered sugar be-
ing their most considerable ingredient But
others feed the habit they are supposed to
cure One largely advertised cure for the
whisky and opium habits consisted of a
mixture of whisky and opium The state
health board of Massachusetts some time
ago analyzed twenty samples of these So
called cures. In every case but one they
contained morphia
The cocoaine habit inevitably means death
IL persevered in. If the victim tries td con-
quer 1t. him or herself. failure Is the most
likely result. But by placing himself Ander
the absolute control of stronger win, Sure
can be had. There Is one extraordinary
fact for which / can give no explanation
whatever. 1t is commonplace that whffe
men drunkards are very often reformed,
the reclamation of a confirmed inebriate
woman is very rare. But in drug taking
this is completely reversed 1t is very much
easier to reclaim woman narcotic than q
man. only once the habit is really estab-
lished a cure comes seldom. The greatest
expert of his time on this subject, Dr. Nor
man Kerr, once told me that he never knew
confirmed morphinomaniac of whom he
could really say that perfect cure had
been accomplished. For this habit gets so
terrible hold of its victim that home and
honor, wife and friends. can all go, and
reputation can vanish IL momentary salts
faction can be obtained
Undoubtedly one great cause of the
growth of the drug habit has been the pop
ulartzation of tabloid and compressed
pellet medicines. These have made self
drugging easy.