Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-02
DIRE EFFECTS OF A DRUG
OPIUM A MENACE TO MANHOOD
OF THE BRITISH.
Recent Court Cases Give an idea Of the
Extent Of the Habit-Increas.
ing Every Year.
From the London News.

Public attention has recently been drawn
| to the drug habit by cases in the courts.
Some time ago a man and woman were
placed in the dock together. Their condi-
ton of nervous distress pitiable and
they implored the magistrate to allow them
| to have morphia. Their sufferings were SO
acute that the request was eventually
granted and the immediate result was mar
Vicious. Their misery and detection disap-
peared and for a time at least they seemed
| perfectly restored. More recently a man
charged with dishonest dealing told the
| magistrate that he was a victim to cocaine
and while under the influences OF the drug
| did not know what happened Inquiries show
| that the vice is much more common than is
generally imagined. Naturally IL is in
| tended to be a secret sin, but the victim Of
the habit quickly becomes mentally and
physically demoralized to an extent which
| renders the services of the doctor impera-
| tive.
On this subject DR.. Forbes winslow speaks
with the authority of one who has made q
close study of the disease for many years.
TO a reporter he entered into the matter
at some length and during the interview
quoted from a number of works which
he has written on the subject. in my
opinion, he said. "one of the chief causes
OF degeneration in the human race is indul-
gence In opium, or the drug habit In
China there are upward of 100000 opium
| eaters and the number is gradually increas-
ing.
A Pernicious Habit.
I'm one year the value Of opium which
was sent into England was over 81 600 OOO
! One curious thing in reference to the drug
| Is that 1t takes hold of the individual abb
solutely; 1t degenerates him and makes him
| quite unfit for the ordinary duties of life.
The first symptoms are feelings of content
and slight excitement followed by laughter
of an involuntary nature. At the first stage
smoker III pf ali,yht r.rh,I
| the temperature is Increased. Circumstances
which happened long ago present them
| selves in all their originality and the future
| appears bright. AS the habit increases this
feeling of exaltation is followed by de-
preston. At first the complexion and
| particularly the ewes but afterward the
face, becomes intensely pale and generally
insensibility supervenes'
DO these conditions apply also to those
who are addicted to cocaine?'
Yes, entirely. When I was in New York
some time ago L spent a good deal of time
In the Chinese quarter and it was a most
ordinary thing to American women
there who had become fascinated by the
habit hanging out of the windows. They
had become its victims to such an extent
that they were incapable of leaving the
quarter. Many of them were ladies'"
Common Among Women.
Does the drug habit assume serious pro-
portions here in England?"
Yes, 1t is a very common thing. chiefly
among ladies. Usually it is taken in tha
beginning to allay pain. Without doubt a
large amount of laudanum is consumed by
the upper classes in conjunction with alco-
hol 1t is hard and fast rule that n Dip
somaniac is also addicted to the morphia
habit, but not vice versa"
You mean that a dipsomaniac who Is
deprived of drink would try to get drugs,
but that victim of the drug habit does
not care about alcohol"
Exactly"
rs the habit increasing in this coun-
try?"
Very much. AS long ago as 1872 no less
than 356.211 pounds of opium were import
ed into England. and if the Indulgence was
measured by this standard the decline and
fall of the social system might be conf
| IDENTIFY predicted"
What about the effects?"
We'll, they are many. As / have al
| ready stated, in the early stages the drug
produces beautiful feelings and visions.
The feelings of the eater are not merely
pleaSurable; he experiences great delight
and brilliant fancfes. which transcend all
real and healthy impressions. Without
doubt many painters have done fine work
under the influence of opium. At first only
a small quantity is taken. but the faS-
cination takes hold of the victim the size
of the dose is increased, and among the
most frequent effects are Authorizations Of
hearing.
An Old Hallucination.
1.-THE idea of being in communication
with Satan is most common in these cases.
But eventually the victim becomes degrad-
ed in mind physically demoralized and
mentally diseased In some asylums in
America thirty-three per cent of the pa
tients were opium ca tiers. There is no doubt
also that 1t stimulates to crime Frequently
it happens that the victimes of drugs Will
steal things when there is no inducement
to do so. In Singapore so per cent of those
confined in the house of correction were
opium smokers and the offenseS OF which
they were guilty were nearly all against
property"
"And the cure?
1.-THE usual method taken by doctors Is TO
reduce the amount of the dose by a sliding
scale The victim deprived of the drug is
often in a state of mania and without RELIEF
would frequently lose his reason. 1t Is a
well-recognized fact by all the leading au-
thorites that inasmuch as inebriety can be
dealt with by suggestion, so the same APP
plies to the drug habit. That is the only
effective treatment for what is really an
incurable disease.
How do these people manage to get hold
of the drugs?" -.
''They make all sorts of excuses OL
course they have to get doctors order put
they reveal very great cunning ana re-
sourcefulness in securing their ends