Evening star., 1923-05-14
URGES RELENTLESS
| WAR ON DOPE EVIL
physician Tells Convention of
Health Authorities Drug Ad-
! diction Rapidly Increasing.

The time has come when all forces
must act and call halt to this
growing evil' of drug consumption,
Dr. Frederick Stricken told the
thirty-eighth annual meeting of the
conference of state and provincial
health authorities of North America,
In session today at the District Med
1cal Society building. 17lS M street.
The convention closes tomorrow.
Declaring that there is one drug
addict to every 500 persons in the
United States, as far as the number
can be estimated, and that the traffic
In narcotic drugs shows the United
States to be the largest consuming
country, with an average of thirty
Six grains of opium per capita, as
contrasted with one grain in Italy,
two in Germany, three in France
and three and one-half grains in
Holland, DR.. Stricken, in his report
1or the committee Of drug addiction,
declared that the problem can only be
satisfactorily solved by the co-opera-
tion of all the law reinforcing agencies.
Health departments of cities and
states, he told the assembled health
department officials, must undertake
their part in a campaign against
the dope" evil.
Report on Drug Addiction.
The committee on drug addiction
reported the following steps as nee
essary to call a halt" to the drug
Evil:
1. The enactment of state narcotic
laws which will supplement the Har-
riSon anti-narcotic act. .
2. Compul:ory and voluntary COM
mitment Of the addict.
!. Facilities for treating addicts at
all state hospitals and penal insti-
tutions.
4. Control of smuggling by interna-
tional asfeement
5. Absolute prohibition of the man
ufacture of heroin. (This drug was
branded in the committee report as
the "cause of the most atrocious
crimes on record.D
6. Education of the public, but con.
fined to facts and conservative stat
mentS."
Appeal to Medical Men.
DR.. Arthur T. Mccormack Of Louis
vile. Ky. president OF the confer
ence,. declared in his annual address
that the death rate in the United
States may be reduced from one third
to one-half of it's present proportion,
and that this would mean a reduction
rate of sickness.
why has the medical profession
lost its high place in public esteem?"
asked DR.: Mccormack. That 1t has
done so is proved by the fact that
cults of healing, devised by Jealous
half-witS. grabbing knowledge and
terminology from the garbage cans
of science, using again and again the
discarded, spoiled rubbish of the only
profession that has ever advanced one
step In the prevention or treatment
OF human disease, have been author
lied in most of our states to mulct
mtStreat and mislead the ignorant
sick.
Charges Law Violation.
These cults. highly trained in
publicity and flauntingly violating
the law in bootlegging to poisoned
products of the ancient art of
medicine to the destruction of health
and the lives of thousands, take or
ganiZed advantage of mob psychology
TO create false and corrupt demand
which weakens us in public opinion.
In our hospitals we seem to be wait
ing like spiders for the helpless sick"
The report of the committee on
medical service, presented by DR..
Matthias Nicoll, jr.. showed the re-
moval of physicians from rural dis
trtcts to the cities, and declared that
the most important problem in the
field OF medical practice which today
confronts the people of the United
states is that of medical service TO
tne Inhabitants of the rural districts I"