Evening star., 1924-11-03
IN TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

try is equivalent to 100000, 900 doses
of opium or it's derivatives per year.
and 100000 doses of cocoa leaves
and cocaine. The average consump-
tion per day of the morphine addicts
is S.5 grains or 1000 doses each, per
month";. 900 per year If the ratio
of addicts found in Tennessee holds
good throughout the United States,
the total number of addicts would be
11S. 900. and at their average consump-
tion, that would use up approximately
1,416,000,000 doses-out of the total
imports of less than 5000, ,000, 900
doses, allowing nothing for the legiti-
mate uses. Allowing an addition of
20 per cent to the Tennessee proper
ton, the National Public Health Serv-
ice concludes that there are not more
than about 10000 addicts-almost
| certainly not to exceed 1s7 900.
* X X X
Another most encouraging feature
of the situation is that the evil is
not increasing i'll this country in
proportion to the growth of popu1a-
tion. In an investigation of 213 cases
In Jacksonville, Fla, 10 years ago
it was found that $40 per cent had
been the result of medicine taken on
physicians prescriptions or treatment
personally administered by the ply
sicians. Progressive medicine has
made great advances in the decade
and less medicine is prescribed today
than formerly and certainly much
greater care is taken in giving mar
| cotics. Physicians know more about
the possibilities of even small doses
imam they did ten years ago. Even
than 1T was reported in the Journal
of the American Medical Association
that the average person will develop
addiction to opium or one of it's
alkaloids, after 80 days of daily use,
and that after three months use it
cannot be discontinued without medi-
cal aid. Persistent use in small
! doses is recognized as more perilous
than occasional use in larger
amounts.
The drug peddler has been accused
of creating many addicts, and like
the moonshfner and the bootlegger,
his prosperity is supposed to be based
upon the law cutting off the "Iegiti-
mate" dealer in the forbidden drug.
This Is denied by the officials, who
allege that not one case of an addict
has been found which could trace
the origin to the despicable drug
peddlers. they supply confirmed
addictS but seldom approach pros
pect1ve victims not already addicted.
Among the Influences which have
tended to lessen addiction" says DR..
Lawrence kolb, surgeon of the Pub
lie Health Service, may be mentioned
the enormous advances which have
been made in medical science and
medical education during the last 80
years, and the specific information
that has been gained about narcotic
addiction. AS a result, there has
come about a better understanding
of the dangers and therapeutic limi-
tations Of opium and cocaine, and
| those drugs are no longer used in
| many OF the diseases for which they
were at one time commonly pre-
| scribed. Another factor which has
| caused addiction to take DOWN
ward course is the enforcement of
| the restrictive laws enacted by the
State and Federal governments"
\ \ X X
In 1918 the Treasury made a survey
Of the number Of narcotic addicts
who were being treated in New York
State by physicians, and found that
| 81 per cent of the physicians who re-
ported showed that they were treat
| ing 1866 addicts. In 1928 a similar
survey Of New York was made and
SIG per cent Of all physicians of
| the State reported q total of only
IT'S cases of addiction Five years of
progress has never been more mark