The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-09-08
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DRUG HABIT is SPREADING
vice on Increase In England-Ingre
dients Vary From ChoraI
to Alcohol.

English society is becoming serious
ly exercised about the habit Of taking
drugs, which appears to be spreading
more rapidly than ever Judging from
some OF the correspondence which is
appearing on the subject. What was
at one time the vice of the few is de-
clared now to be the practise OF
many-worried business men, profes
sional men, cursed with brain fag,"
1adcd society women and all the
other victims of the killing rush of
modern life.
A case is narrated in NJ. A. p. of
a hospital nurse who recently applied
for relief at an inebriates' home, con.
Tossing that she had not been really
sober-that is to say, more or less un.
der the influence of stimulant-for six
years. A spell of unusualyl heavy
work had driven her to cocaine. Hcr
holiday, which ought to have fol
lowed Immediately, had to be post
poned for some reason connected with
the hospital work, and she continued
taking cocaine until when relief came
at last she found herself unable to
give up her daily allowance of the
drug. Sometimes she took brandy to
relieve her craving for the drug, but
always she returned As in every
other case, the gradual sapping away
of the will power weakened her eff
forts to break the habit, and in the
end her friends had to take the most
drastic measures to force her into an
inebriates' home. Here the habit was
successfully broken after an agoniz,
ing painful cure"
One woman who led very busy so
clal life used to take regularly a mix.
true of chloral, sal-volatile, brandy
and soda, while another dosed herself
with mixture of sal-volatile and red
lavender.
Another extraordinary case was
heard of recently. Three specialists
had been called in to examine a WON.
an, and though all three agreed that
she was suffering from overstimula.
tion they were utterly unable to dis
cover the cause Of her symptoms. The
mystery was not sovled until some
one happened to mention that the
woman kept n bottle of sulphate OF
qu:nine in her boudoir. She then con.
fessed that she was simply suffering
from excessive doses of quinine.
The stage, literature and art each
contribute a large number to the vic.
tins of the drug and alcohol habits
Recently a once famous artist was
found sleeping on the embankment
having falle nthrough every stage of
d pravity from occasional Indulgence
in mhorphia to sheer mania for alco.
hol.
Many men and women connected
with the stage have fallen victims
to the craving for stimulants, always
with disastrous results to their pro.
fegsional regulations. One actress,
for whom the critics had prophecied
a brilliant career, commenced taking
morphia during a nervous crisis She
was delighted with the immediate ben.
fit she derived from the drug, and used
it again and again. Before she or any
one else had realized what was hap.
pening, the unfortunate woman had
become morphine-maniac She not
only made no progress In her art but
her acting was deteriorating rapidly
Before the end came 1t had become
impossible for her to obtain an en-.
gagement. No manager could de
pend on her coming to the theater,
and when she did put in an appear,
ance 1t was only charitable to de
scribe her acting as erratic She be.
came so reckless in her craving for
stmulants that she drank eau de co.
logne, Florida water or anything else
of an alcoholic nature. In this casae.
at any rate, death came as a merciful
release.