Imperial Valley press., 1915-04-19
INSPECTOR JONES
TELLS OF DRUG USE


act has decreased the consumption of
narcotics fully 80 per cent through
prescriptions by physicians and sales
by pharmacists, the number of vic
TINS of the drug habit is increasing,
according to Inspector Roy Jones of
the state pharmacy board, who termi-
mated successful crusade against the
nefarious traffic at CaleXico yester-
day.
"The object of the state pharmacy
board primarily is not to prosecute
the drug user, but to suspend the op-
eratlons of those who prey upon the
weakness of others through the sale
of narcotics. In the instances where
victims of the habit are prosecuted
they are sent to the state hospital for
treatment" he said
"A wide variance exists between the
morphine user and those who are ad-
dlcted to the use of cocaine. Nor
phine is an opium derivative, while
cocaine is manufactured from the
cocoa leaf. The morphine user, if he
exercises ordinary precautions, may
consume the deadly drug for many
years. This Is not the case with the
cocaine user. The average life of
the cocaine addict after he begins to
consume the drug is not more than )
or years, although in rare instances
cases have been known where cocaine
users have lived to use the drug for
z years.
Either and chloroform also are
coming into more common use. The
significant fact concerning these two
substitutes for dope" is that they
seem to be prevalent only in the
higher classes of society. Jaded drug
users, seeking new sensation, or when
they are unable to secure narcotic,
often resort to chloroform or ether,
and cases occur frequently when drug
addlcts consume quantities of patent
medicines which contain both narcotics
and choloroform in addition to alco-
hol
"Chloral, known in the vernacular
as knockout drops is also frequently
used, as is paregoric and laudanum.
Heroin, an opium derivative 8 times
as powerful as morphine, is also COM
monty used. | have known many in
stances in which habitual drug users
have consumed unbelievable amounts
of paregoric and laudanum after they
had become Injured to narcotics.
Drug addicts often cultivate small
patches of marihuana. weed indi-
genous to Mexico, which. rolled into
cigarettes, produces physical SEN
sation similar to MANY drugs. Con-
stant use of the weed terminates in
total blindness and insanity to the
victim.
"Happy-dust" or "snow," as it is
commonly called, claims many VIC
Tins, but the use of this drug appears
TO be confined to the negro. The drug
is an opium derivative which has been
treated with acid.
"Happy-dust," in the form in which
it is sold to the consumer, is pulver-
lied. The narcotic is snuffed into the
nostrils and its continued use destroys
the tissues of the nose and distorts
the face
"The drug traffic in this state prob
ably is heavier than that of any state
in the United States, with the excep-
tion of New York. The proximity of
the Mexican border, which hitherto
has been a distributing center, or the
fact that other states are lax in en-
forcing their drug laws, may be the
reasons for this fact.
"The drug habit claims victims from
all classes. In Los Angeles the state
pharmacy board have discovered in
stances of newsboys, many of whom
were mere youths, who have become
addicts to the habit through associa-
ton with other persons who use the
drug. Many women also are devotees
of the habit. The pharmacy board
recently arrested a young woman stu
dent at normal school and subse-
quent investigation disclosed the fact
that she had become a drug addict,
having commenced the habit after ac-
quaintance with young man, a user
of narcotics, whom she had met at
social function. She ranked high as
a student because of the use of the
drug, which stimulates the mind to
unusual activity"
Inspector Jones is one of the most
active agents in Southern California
in hating the drug traffic and with
the conclusion of the Calexico case,
where he arrested men and confis-
Gated large quantity of drugs, he will
return to Los Angeles.