The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-22
American Yearly Consumption.

opium and It's narcotic derivatives tmOr-
phine and heroin) In America for the
period 1910-1915 was 491 ,043 pounds. In
the same period the United States con-
sumed 1.04s.250 pounds of cocoa leaves.
from which cocaine Is derived. America
gets its opium from Smyrna. Persia,
Turkey and India Just about ten per
cent. of its supply comes from India
india supplies Japan and Japan feeds
It to China. the reports say.
The war interfered with our shipping
connections with Smyrna. Persia, Tur-
key and India. Therefore figures for
1915 and 1917 are chaotic. But trading
was resumed in 1918 to a certain extent
and 1t is shown that the United States
imported 476.000 pounds OF raw opium.
To make clearer just what this means,
II Is put thus:
In the United States in 1919 we con-
sumed thirty-siX grains of opium per
caplta-from thirteen TO seVenty-two
times as much as Austria, Italy. Ger
many. Portugal. Spain. France or lol-
land In 1919. half OF which was under
wartime prohibition laws, we consumed
forty-hve grains of opium and It's de-
rivatives per capita. The figures for
1920. under the regime of the Eighteenth
Amendment. are not obtainable. How
ever DR.. Copeland says that II is fair to
assume that the progression continues.
and that the United States will be found
to have consumed moro than fifty grains
per capita this year.
Dr. Copeland and Federal investigators
agree that Just about IS per cent. OF the
cocaine, morphine heroin and straight
opium passing through the hands of
manufacturing chemists Is utilized for IL
licit purposes. And this, Il must be said.
is not the fault of those chemists. Just
so long as the Government permits any
expectation of these drugs the Illicit
traffic therein will thrive. Virtually all
authorities agree that the bulk of the
stuff the bootleggers peddle is struggled
in from Mexico and Canada. TO which
countries II is first exported And 1t Is
exported for the express purpose of re-
Importation by smugglers.
Drug Smuggling increases.
The meagre facts contained In sun
dry reports indicate that drug SNUG
ling has Increased enormously since
January 1. This Is attributable TO the
abolition of the saloon, they say. They
insist that the saloon was the rendez-
vous of the dope peddlers. and that the
saloon was, moreover. the distributing
point and the clearing house for SNUG
glers. II was easier to smuggle the
stuff In with imported liquor. The man
or woman who seemed most likely TO
take to dope In the old days appeared
to be more satisfied with whlskey. de-
spite the fact that the effects were en-
tirely different. Besides, cocaine
heroin morphine and opium were much
more expensive than whlskey.
So long as the persons who insisted
upon poisoning themselves had the choice
between alcohol or dope. the chances
were that he or she chose whiskey. At
any rate the varying opinions so indi-
cate. Whiskey gone. the insistent one
found dope still obtainable
Congress- under the latest amendment
TO the Harrison law--an amendment
passed coincidental with the adoption
of the Nostead northumberland
that accurate statistics on the dope trade
be kept by the Prohibition Enforcement
Bureau. That bureau Is responsible for
the enforcement OF the Harrison law
also.