Omaha daily bee., 1916-08-26
By WOODS HUTCHINSON, M. D.

Why, il opium gives so little posi-
tive pleasure, does any sane human
being ever develop an appetite for
morphine or become the victim Of the
opium habit! The answer is two
fold-hrst, and most indirect, that ex-
ceedingly few such persons ever do
form the habit. The vast majority
Of opium habitues are either perman-
entity unbalanced from inborn mental
defect or else were temporarily so
from wearing and long-eontinued
agony and distress when they fell
under its SPELL 1t is only during sick
ness and physical discomfort, usually
during severe and incessant pain, that
opium has any chance OF getting hold
upon the average human beings affec-
tons. And, as rule, his interest
in il ceases absolutely and finally just
as soon as pain or distress, which
made its deadening power necessary,
subsidies and disappears.
Many time in the days of my
early practice, when opium was out
only sure relief from agonizing pain,
can | RECALL hearing the victim of a
street accident, with broken land
mangled leg, or a patient suffering
from the throbbing agony Of deep
abscess, or one Just recovering from
the tortures OF renal collie or gall
stones, ask: Doctor. do I have to
take any more of that dopy stuff to
make me sleep at night? 1t puts me
to sleep, but ! feel so mean and or
merry when | wake up in the morning.
Don't you think ! could get along
without it tonight"
| This is the reason why, although
probably almost every person in the
United States who has reached middle
life, has, with or without knowing it,
taken opium or opiates in some form
for the relief OF pain, from one to
a dozen times, the total number OF
morphine or opium users, according to
the most careful and competent est.
mates, is only about two in the thou.
sand. y 49,.
These estimates (Which are and~san
be nothing but estimates, as no actual
records have ever yet been kept, give
the appalling total of from 10000 to
100000 opium users in the United
States, the former figure being thai
OF an expert of the United States cen,
sus bureau, the latter Of the United
States public health service. Ever,
means possible should be adopted tc
reduced this huge army of misfortune
and wretchedness, but it will do us nc
harm for once to look at the situation
from the opposite point of view ano
contemplate with assurance and salts
faction the 9S,8O0,000 citizens who
have never become addicted to oium
although probably two-thirds Of then
have used it at some time for tn,
temporary relief of pain.
Perhaps, before going further, few
words of explanation might be help
/ full. Opium is the dried and cured
juice collected from hicks cut, in IN,
green head Of the poppy; usual,
4 grown in the sub tropics or tropics
as the northern poppy juice is no
strong enough in morphine. 1t is ;
dark brown, sticky substance, some
4 thing like very dirty beeswax or blacl
tar soap in appearance and consist
ency. In the beginning and, indeed
up to about fifty years ago, the crud,
gum opium itself was used directly a,
a drug, either rolled into the form o
pills. or dried and ground up witt
other substances like Dover's powder
4 or dissolved in alcohol and water, t.
4 form tincture QaudanunD or ex