The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1910-04-20

q ONE people are born dopey, others acquire dope
- by their free WILL and not few have dope
- thrust upon them The use of the hypodermic
syringe colloqually known in certain circles the
gun" has the last few decades been strong factor
in increasing the Indulgence in narcotic drugs. In
fact the dope fend, finished product that he is,
belongs modern life and civilization. Early man
not acquainted with much of anything better
than PLAIN alcoholic drunkenness. Not that
self-deflement had part or parcel with man when
the world was newer; his resources for debauchery
then were only more limited than now. So the drug
habtue has to be product. or by-product. OF
this age of nventng and thinking
1t has been conservatvey estimated that there
in this country 100000 users OF narcotic
drugs. Perhaps onehalf of these are without help
and without hope while the other half have yet
reached point of drug ensavery where they are
handicapped socially or in business way. There
are various grades between mild users of drugs
and those who have become fends, so it would
be reckless to hazard guess on the number OF
individuals who are near-fends, just as it would
be hard to approximate the number of people who
are nearcrazy. There distinct lines of de-
marcatOn.
OF the many people addicted to the improper use
of drugs the medical profession furnishes larger
quota than any trade profession. Physicians
above all understand the subtle yet enthraling
bonds that are woven by what is generically known
dope" yet an unduly large number of them fall
victims thereto. But at the same time the ranks OF
the drug habitue are being rapidly augmented from
all kinds and conditions of and and it is
painful fact that this type of self-contaminaton is
becoming more and more in evidence The victims
run very wide gamut socially and Intellectually
from the giant, genius and scholar to the dwarf,
idiot and illiterate. Spneless weaklings and moral
perverts not the only individuals who fall vic
tins to the seductive influence of drugs. The al
Turing cali is answered by many persons who
both brainy and ambitious For person With
highkeyed nervous system there is nothing in the
world easy to be kindly impressed by narcotic
drugs. And after the nervous system is thus i'm
pressed stated number of times, nerve-deadener
enthusiastically very comforting, and later
necessity.
ATypica1 Slave of the Habit
WHEN located a small inland town during my
w callow days. fifteen years ago. drummer
called at my crude Office, stating that he desired to
use medicine. This man, whom shall call
Lockwood, of pleasing and refined personality
and nothing about his appearance would suggest to
the casual observer the inveterate morphine habtue
that he My first observation out of the ord-
nary that he would every moment SO burrow
his face his hands often does when
painful sneeze is about to be emitted When asked
what his symptoms and sensations the man
REPLIED: Il feel if every bone in my face would
break certain measure OF anxiety seemed writ
ten in his face and he visibly i'll at until
he had dissolved nearly half teaspoonful of pow
dered morphine which deftly transferred into
his much coveted gun" The dose was sufficiently
large to put of business number of persons
not habituated to drugs. Just this man
meath his skin, his changed because of the
expectancy it aroused, for he not buying, and
to have delivered, few hours of self-conf-