The Washington times., 1930-02-03
D. c. OSTEOPATH
BACKS SP0RTER
DRUG BILL

Two of WaShington's leading
drugleSs healers today unquah-
fiedly indorsed the two bills in
troduced in Congress by Repre-
sentative Porter of Pennsylvania,
providing for centralizing the
governmental agencies for sup
preston Of the dope evil and
Tightening up on the laws by
denying licenses to prescribe and
administer narcotic drugs to
physicians who are addicts them.
selves or who violate the mar.
cotic laws.
Or. Riley Moore, oSteopath,
who was a delegate from the
American Osteopathic Association
In 1928 to the National Anti-Nar-
cotic Conference, and DR.. EN-.
NETT j. Murphy, chiropractor, of
this city, both expr eSSed the hope
that the bills viii be passed by
this session of Congress.
Sees Great Benefit
II believe the Porter bills will
bring about great benefit to that
portion of our population of un
fortunates who are addicted to
habit-forming drugs" DR.. Murphy
declared. "and who are likely to
become addicted tc them in fu-
ture.
ut stands to reason that no
physician, nor any other indi
vidual, who has so far lost con-
troll Of his own self as to be-
come a drug addict, should be al
lowed to prescribe or administer
narcotics to others. In making
this statement, want to he clear
on the point that I do not be-
heve any reputable physician
should be restricted in any way
In prescribing drugs which his
Judgment dictates as necessary to
the case at hand.
1t is unnecessary to state that
q physician who has been violat-
ing the narcotic laws or who has
been caught violating them,
should be licensed to continue
violating them.
flCleS Add1ctS
"One of the most pitiful OBJ
jectS in the world is drug ad
dict who has becom such
through an unfortunate chain of
events and who, though desiring
with all his heart the break the
habit, cannot do so.
Narcotics should be admins
tered with the rareSt judgment,
and only doctor of medicine of
high caliber and uncorruptible
character should be permitted to
prescribe or administer them.
THE centering of all govern
mental narcotic agencies into one
bureau, it seems to me, would
be move in the interest of gov
ernmental economy and ef-
ficiency. Altogether think
Congressman Porter is to be both
thanked and congratulated for in
Producing his bills.
ChirOpractOrS Favor Bill
I feel sure the chiropractic pro
fession of Washington will join
me in heartily endorsing them"
DR.. Moore has given the subject
OF narcotics much thought since
the conference in 1923. At that
time he suggested to a number
of medical men present that, in
his opinion, the best way to de-
crease the drug evil would be for
the Government to do all of the
=wholesaling of narcotic drugs.
Through this method, he point
ed out, the Government could
keep strict watch over the
channels into which the mar
cotic drugs went and the physician
would be helped by getting the
narcotics at cost.
Bill Should Get Support
"It appears to me that the
Porter bills for the attempted
control of the narcotic traffic
should receive the hearty sup
port of all who are sincerely in
terested in it's suppression" he
said.
1T is a forward step, though I
doubt if it goes far enough. There
is not likely to be much open
opposition to the passage of the
bills, but "ny developing should
be scrutinized carefully to see
that it is what it purports to
be.
LAS sure as the opium war
in China had a definite eco
nomic background, so much we
recognize our narcotic problem as
primarily economic if we would
oppose it effectively. Fl
"The fight against the abuse of
narcotics has been most strongly
supported by those who oppose
it on moral grounds, but it will,
I believe, be only partially sue
cessful so long as it is treated as
q moral issue. Those economically
interested in narcotics are very
willing that it should remain
moral issue.