The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1915-03-12

made him respondent. and he took
70 drugs instead Of liquor He dis
appeared. and after years OF waiting.
his relatives tried to have him pro-
nounced legally dead. Then the Sal.
walton army rediscovered him. He
mo longer Graves drugs. but his mind
N a wreck. He sweeps the walks
and mops the hoors OF the sanitari.
um. but he has to be told TO wiring
out his mop. and where TO leave HIS
broom. After wandering. about the
sanitarium for considerable time.
a few days ago. he confessed that
he could not remember which was
the basement door.
The system used by Mr.. Tyson for
the cure Of drug victims consists In
| tapering the dose. gradually substi-
tuting some other drug for that to
which the victim 10 addicted. until
finally the patient Is taking "jolts"
OF sterilised water In the belief that
he II being given hypodermic In
jections Of the drug. Along with this
treatment goes care that the pa
tients mind IL kept occupied and that
he has plenty Of wholesome society.
Mr.. Tyson regsrds the method pur-
sued by DR.. Bernhard Jacob, in the
Detroit House Of Correction. and by
Warden James Russell. In Marquette
| prison. as unnecessarily severe. In
these institutions. drug victims are
absolutely deprived Of their solace.
"The suffering that these men un-
derso 10 unspeakably terrible" said
Mr.. Tyson. They 90 out OF their
minds. and In their delirium they
must be subject to frightful halluci-
nations. One man I observed was
under the impression that hrs wife
was sitting beside his bed. In a chair,
dead. Another destroyed his bed
clothing. Another would eat his
clothing to try TO satisfy the crav-
Ing for the drug They have con-
vulsive nervous and muscular move
ments and the screams and means
are heartrending as they plead for
snow"
Sheriff oakman employs the de.
prfvation method in the county jail.
DR.. John e. Clark. county chemist,
says that he believes the drug habit
can be cured by abstinence, but he
says that there are extreme cases
In which the heart action may be
endangered by an abrupt closing Of
the supply.
DR.. william II. Price. health on
Ger. says that the board Of health has
not taken ofhcial cognizance of the
drug situation.
1T would not surprise me much II
more than one drug victim. whose
supply Is cut OF by the Harrison
act follows the example OF Horace
Burroughs" said DR.. Price.
THE Harrison act gives the state
authorities q way OF getting at the
facts Of the drug traffic which they
have never had before. II ought to
be possible now TO secure an enact
ment by which local boards OF health
can trace the supply OF drugs to its
sources. With this information at our
command, we would probably be
able to take effective steps.
I'm jacksonville, Fla. the health
officer. DR.. Terry. very efficient
ofhcer. has succeeded In getting the
necessary power for survey of the
situation I Many OF his results are
surprising. He found. In a city In
which the population Is about evenly
divided between whites and colored,
that more whites than negroes are
victims Of the drug. and more
women than men. A great many OF
the women victims live in the un-
derworld.
Given the necessary information
regarding the drug trafic. there is no
reason why the board of health
could not handle. the situation In
the same way that II does contag ious
diseases"
Can you make any suggestion as
TO. the proper steps to be taken by
drug users to cure themselvesg" Dr.
Price was asked.
mo, can't" he replied. my ex-
perience has not led me into a close
study OF that matter. would say.
off-hand. that the only help to be
obtained 10 from an institution. VIII
power Is SO much impaired by the
use Of drugs that II is almost hope
less for the victim to effect his own
cure. There Ia nothing In his life
so powerful as the craving for the
drug, and he win usually sacrfnce
everything else to get supply OF
the sun. A drug user will become
Unfortunately clever in the ruses he
employs TO secure cocaine. morphine
or heroin. Without help from out
side, nearly all these cases are hope