Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-12
A NARCOTIC DRUG LAW
WITH TEETH" NEEDED

Il menace today than II has ever been,
in spite of-nay, in certain respects, be-
cause of-the passage Of the Harrison
act That Federal law. when II went
into effect more than a year ago. was
horalded as the decisive blow at habit
forming drugs. with one stroke Of the
legislative scalpel II was to cut the can
Ger Of the most secret and subtle OF the
vices from our national life. 1t was ac-
tually within sight OF success when the
statute itse'f was in turn suddenly rent
by less skiIful surgery-that Of the
law. OF It's twelve sections one was de-
clared unconstitutional by the Supreme
Court. But that one excislon was of the
flesh nearest the heart. and today the
whole body OF this giant law, once
deemed invincible. lies scorned and life'
less
However negligent was the public con
science before the Harrison act in per-
mitting the sale Of opium and its deriva-
tives without physicians prescriptions.
there was at least this virtue in. the
open trade, that through its very open.
ness It did not encourage the machina.
tions and greed OF criminal bands, nor
did II wreathe with the fascination Of
forbidden fruit the lair Of the dope"
ogre. Shorn Of its vital Section 8. the
Harrison act became as stultifed as
liquor prohibition law that does not pro-
hibit This section made it a crime for
an unauthorized person to have narcotic
drugs in his possession. When the
courts said this was not a crime. It be-
came necessary for the authorities to es,
tablish proof Of Illicit sales of drugs in
order to convict the vendors and thereby
stop theiS traflc. Arrests and raids
would have cleaned out the dope" supply
of the underworld in a short time II mere
possession OF that supply remained
crime. Arrests and raids are Of no avail
now that that possession is not deemed
crime, and the actual effect OF the now
crippled law is to stimulate criminal
syndicate to a widening clutch on the abb
normal profits of smuggling and clan.
destlne barter, on the lives of thousands
of men and women, boys and girls.
State legislation to remedy the defects
of the Harrison act will be urged by a
citizens committee before the next AS
sembly. and it has been with the pur-
pose of impresslng upon the electorate
the hitherto unadvertised effort of the
committee that the EVENING LEDGER
has explained at length the many phases
of the drug evil. There can be no argu-
ment against law with teeth" to end
an intolerable condition, and its enforce,
ment should not be difficult.
But the law cannot be limited to the
coercive power to prevent the distribution
of the drugs. 1t would be barbarous to
cut of suddenly from thousands of vic
tins their unholy bread of life. In.
veterate smokers who have tried to stop
smoking will have a faint Cbut very
faint idea OF ne suffering involved in
that. The Commonwealth must provide
humane treatment for the sufferers.
Two distinct demands are thus pre-
sented to the Legislature, one for the
prevention of the Illicit drug vending that
makes new victims. and one for the
reclamation OF present victims. And the
chief provisions of the law thus frame
themselves:
/. For a measure to make the unau
thorized possession of narcotic drugs q
crime. whether proof of Illicit sales il
obtained or not
2. For State institution in which
sufferers will be treated through a grad
ual reduction of their enslaving narcotic
or the other methods applied by physi