The Falls City tribune., 1910-05-06
A BOON TO THE SUFFERING
a 6ANE TO THE DARING so
SAYS DIR. MoRSMAN.
An Instructive Discussion OF the
Drug Opium and Its Num-
erous BY Products.

opium is the tolltItlt juice VI INC
nnripc poppy. and can be obtained
from any variety OF the plant, even
the familiar aud beautiful garden
flower,
other varieties are more productive
however, and these are extensively
cultivated IN China. Thibet, India. Per
sia aud other tropical countries.
The origin of this plant is nncer-
tain. but It was known and the ex-
tract was used incidentally in the
early centuries Dioscorides men
tions the drug in ~ \, Il
The method of collecting opium in
india and Persia is almost the anne
today as described by Dioseorides
1900 years ago. the methods in
China are somewhat improved China
is now one OF thu great opium pro.
dueing countries, but China had
opium forced upon Il by the English
1t was introduced within China about
1850. aud in 1873 China imported 200
chests; in 1920 1t imported i,0a4
chests. The importation was forbid.
den by the Emperor In l196. but the
activity of the English managed 10
keep up the trade in spit of the
Emperor's mandate, and in 1920 the
importations had increased 30 1857
chests. Then they had a little affair
very much like our Boston tea party.
The English opium ships were threat
ened with hostile measures II they
were not taken away. The demand
was not complied with ana 20, POI
chests of opium valued at two mill
ion pounds sterling were destroyed
by the Chinese commissioners. But
the English stlll Struggled the stuff
on shore and troubles occurred which
eliminated in war, which was settled
by the treaty OF Marking in 1912, But
China could not prevent the home
cultivation of the drug, or at least
did not, and it increased rapidly and
now China produces a tremendous
amount of opium. Almost all the
opium imported into this country
m from China.
The consumption of opium in China
is very large but not as large per
capita as in India. There il Is
generally and habitually employed
in the place of spirituous liquors.
The history of opium in medicine
is synonymous with the growth of
medicine. Its wonderful hypnotic
tsleep produeing) effect and its pow.
er to relieve pain made it one of the
most useful drugs to the early ply
stefan and it has lost none of it's
prestige in the centuries that have
elapsed since its first employment.
III crude drug was used until 1916.
waep morphia was isolated. Chemists
ne obtain more than 90 alkaloids
or active principals from opium, but
AAbA fRtiiAh 1 = Atif ithNi llllloi NAiii ullt4
Morphine has two important chemical
derivatives-one is a very powerful
emetic, used by hypodermic injection
II is called apomorphinc. II has no
sleep producing effect. The other is
heron. This has a special effect up
on the respiratory passages chat
makes it a very valuable addition 10
cough mixtures and preparations OF
that character II has bat LITTLE
hypnotic effect, and is uot a habit
forming drug, But if opium has been
a benefactiou 10 suffering humanity
it has exacted its toll 1t he's killed
its thousands and ruined its tens of
thousands, It's records show as ruth
less as that of King Alcohol.
Opium is a habit forming drug aud
SO are nearly all of its a~lkaloids. Nor
phine is the worst of all in this res
pect. The slaves to The opium habit
are numbered by the millions. There
are thousands OF them even in the
highly civilized countries. It is a
persistent habit and once acquired.
is with difficulty cured. As the system
becomes habituated to the drug, the
lose must be increased to produce
the desired effect and the confirmed
4abitue will take enough in one day
- kill two or three men not accus-
toned to it. Nither opium nor alec
hol are to be blamed for the havoc
they have wrought. They would be
worthless in medicine if they did not
produce the very effects which give
them their power for harm. The
quality that makes them dangerous
is the very quality that makes them
valuable. II man will misuse them.