Omaha daily bee., 1916-06-20
The Truth
About Opium
Habit
By WOODS HUTCHINSON, M. D.

The opium habit has always been
one Of the fascinating horrors of med
icine. The deadly charm which it
holds for its victims, the dreamy and
delirious joys which it is supposed to
afford them, the fearful penalties
which it exacts and the depths Of deg
radiation to which it plunges them,
give il tremendous appeal to popu-
lar imagination and curiosity.
And although our imagination is
divine gift, one Of the highest powers
which we posses, when powerfully ex-
cited and appealed to, it can play us
some curious tricks. Seldom has it
taken greater liberties with the ac-
tual facts than in the romantic and al
most preposterous conceptions which
we have Of the so-called opium habit.
In the first place it is, strictly
speaking, no habit at all in the sense
Of something that we do more and
more easily by dint Of practice and
repetition, but diseased craving for
relief from acute discomfort, due to
a poisoned or toxic condition OF the
cells Of the body. In the second place
there is little or nothing of positive
pleasure OF even delirious delight
about the opium habit in nine cases
out of ten.
All that the vast majority Of opium
or morphine habitues obtain from
even the hugest doses Of their dar-
ling drug is mild and muddle-headed
sense of drowsy comfort and peace Of
mind, such as the average citizen gets
every day after . good dinner. What
drives them to the hypodermic, or the
vial, is not any longings for illicit de-
lights and rosy dreams Of paradise,
but simply a craving for relief from
intolerable discomfort and pain. The
opium addict has all the pains and
penalties of dissipation, but none of
its supposed pleasures. The utmost
that he succeeds in doing is to "break
even"-and at what fearful pricel
Incredible as il may seem, the So
called fascination of the drug for him
is almost purely negative, as means
Of relief from intolerable discomfort
and distress, which discomfort and
distress are due to the poisonous aft
er-effects of the doses he has already
taken. This is what J. grimly and
graphically termed, in medical par
lance, the vicious circle" Of the
opium habf.
Thirdly, so far from opium being
key which unlocks the gate Of short
lived seventh heaven, opium or NOR
phine in ninety-five persons out of a
hundred produces no dreams, or
visions, or positively pleasurable SEN
sations at ALL Simply feeling Of
drowsiness, at first rather pleasing
than otherwise, but quickly becoming
distressing, like that which accompa-
mics excessive fatigue when the eye
lids can hardly be held open, deep
ening to Inconsistencies, and If the
dose has been large enough-death.
II the dose has been small, when
the taker awakcns it will usually be
with dry, sticky mouth, furred
tongue, an aching head and nau-
seated stomach. All the familiar do
mestic symptoms, in fact Of "the
morning after" magnified three or
Four-fold, without even the memory
OF period Of exhilaration and cf-
fortress triumph to console him. In
word, healthy and normal man or
woman gets astonishingly little pleas
ure out OF opium--its only charm be-
ing its power to release from pain.
Last, but not least, instead OF the
devotees OF opium, slaves OF the pipe
or Of the needle, being hopelessly
bound in an eternal slavery, whose
letters nothing but death will strike
off, Il is the opinion of broad-minded
and intelligent physicians who have
had wide experience with these un-
fortunates that at least half and prob
ably nearer two-thirds OF them can
be cured, and will remain free from
the craving afterward as long as they
can be kept in reasonable condition
Of health.