Evening star., 1923-06-03

n Y OW that European diplomacy
! nj at the Geneva conference has
| ! " defeated the resolution pre-
sented by Representative
/ Stephen G. Porter of Pennsylvania,
chairman of the House committee on
/ foreign affairs, which was approved
! by Congress. calling upon the nations
of the world to limit the production
| of opium to the legitimate require
! ments of medicine, it is especially in
| teresting and pertinent to see what
! the situation actually is in this coun-
! try regarding the drug evil.
| 1t will be surprising to the ma
| jority of people in this country to
, learn that the per capita consump-
tion of habit-forming drugs in the
United States has been reduced nearly
500 per cent during the administra-
| tion of the Harrison narcotic law.
! The statement has frequently been
| made recently that the per capita
{ consumption of opium in this country
F., is thirty-siX grains. This is refuted
! by Col. L. G. Mutt, chief of the mar
! cotic division of the prohibition unit,
| who figures that the present per
( capita consumption is -eighths
| of one grain of morphia, or approx
| mately seven grains of crude opium.
Half Million Addicts.
| Col. Mutt also points out that while
the estimate has been placed as high
as 100000 addicts, there is no justi-
| fication for these figures. and, ac-
| cording to his best calculations. there
| is now only one addict in every 500
| persons, or not exceeding 100000 ad-
| diets in the entire country.
! With this encouraging showing
| those who have studied the drug evil
most closely in the United States feel
| that the present law, with the inter-
| probation of the courts, is in general
| ample to take care of the situation.
| The original Harrison narcotic act
I was greatly strengthened by the
| Jones' Miller act of May &c, 1922,
which by providing heavy penalties
for any one aiding or abetting or
bringing in opium and covering seiz-
ure and forfeiture has been success
full in keeping out large quantities of
opium.
Two important pieces of legislation,
however, are expected to be passed by
the incoming Congress to further i'm
prove the drug evil situation. First,
in obedience to an insistent demand
from all over the country, severer
!: penalties, as provided in a bill in
troduced by Representative Porter,
J are expected to receive the approval
of Congress.
Penalties Made Heavier.
The present law provides for a fine
of SO 900 or five years Imprisonment
as a maximum penalty. The Porter
bill proposes at $4,000 fine and five
to fifteen years for the first offense,
fifteen years for the second offense.
and removes title to the benefits of
parole after serving one-third of the
time. as is now the general law.
Second, the next Congress will
probably prohibit the manufacture
and sale of heroin, which is a product
of morphine, through an excessive
tax 1t is now conceded by physi-
clans that heroin serves no purpose
in medicine that codeine and NOR
phine will not serve and has about
, four times the narcotic strength of
; | COdeine and three times lnaI OF NOR
, phine, while it tears down the system
of the addicts much more quickly.
The improved situation is due
largely, officials say, to the way in
which public opinion has been arous-
ed and to the way in which the judges
have stiffened up in imposing SEN
tences. Where a few years ago they
would give a sentence of thirty days
: they now impose five years. Reports
from all over the United States reflect
/ this improved condition. For exam
pie, Denver judge recently wrote to
federal headquarters saying that ad-
diets are collapsing in the street be-
cause the traffic in drugs has been
made so dangerous that they can no
longer buy the stuff. The situation in
St. Louis has improved about 10 pei
Z cent in the last eighteen months, ac-
5 cording to official reports. This has
{ been due to severe sentences given
: A colored doctor was recently given
= a sentence of forty years.