Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-02
GENEVA HEARS DRUG PERIL
] is PILINC UP FOR u. S.!
Traffickers to Flood World in Next IL
Months as Governments Wage Fight to
Curb Illicit Manufacture and Sale.

, headquarters has had to deal in recent
years have pointed eastward. All could
be traced as far as Turkey or Egypt and
In some cases farther Still-to Shanghai
and Japan and ultimately to the United
States Of America. The United States
is the final goal Of the big consignments
Of narcotics. All the big European aka
loid factories appear to be working for
An idea Of the immense profits de-
rived from the nefarious business is
shown in the fact that one "ring" alone
(the famous Naarden Holland disclos-
ureS), in six months exported $50 kilo-
grams (2,090 pounds) of morphine, 5000
Kilograms $500 pounds of heroin and
Experts estimate that only 5 per cent
Of the drugs in the Illicit traffic are
seized.
The wholesale price per ounce and re-
tail prices per grain of Illicit drugs In
the United States is officially given by
the United States Treasury Department,
as follows:
Boston-Morphine, SIS per ounce, so
ounce, S5-45 cents per grain; cocaine,
$76 per ounce, $3.50 cents per grain.
New York-Morphine. $45-$50 per
ounce. 1880 cents per grain; heroin,
$25-$45 per ounce, 1880 cents per
grain; cocaine, $5o-$60 per ounce, so
cents per grain.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. $42-$9o per
ounce, 81 per grain; heroin, $40-$60
per ounce, so cents to 81 per grain:
cocaine, $50 per ounce, so cents to 81
per grain.
Washington Morphine, $60-$9o per
ounce, 81 to So per grain; heroin,
$40-$50 per ounce, 81 to SO per grain;
cocaine, $50 per ounce, 81 per grain.
Detroit-$55-$85 per ounce 80 cents
to 81 per grain; heroin, $50 per ounce.
50 per grain: cocaine. S45-$85 per
ounce, so to 70 cents per grain.
Kansas City-Morphine, $sO-s140 per
ounce, 81 to S1.50 per grain; heroin, no
figures; cocaine, $125-$150 per ounce,
81 per grain.
Value Of Shipments.
The Naarden shipments, at American
Illicit wholesale prices. were worth from
81 ,672 900 to $5,016.000 for the NOR
phine; from $6,336,000 to $10.56o. 900
for the heroin and between $4,000 to
100000 for the cocaine, depending
upon whether 1t was disposed OF in
New York. Boston or Kansas City.
The retail price-peddled to addicts
by "shots in the arm" or grains-would
multiply the above figure by from 10
to so. bringing the money involved into
matician can compute.
The activities of this one ring,
smashed by the Dutch police. show clear
ly that If only small percentage leaked
into the United States the profits would
be immense. American seizures last
year at ports and on the Mexican and
Canadian borders totaled only 1886
ounces of morphine, 1879 ounces Of her
DIN and AZ ounces of cocaine. Seizures
| inc Ion
siderably to the above figure.
Just how many drug addicts there are
in the world is hard to determine or
even estimate. Egyptian officials know
positively that there are half million in
that country; in Detroit, Mich. semi
official reports put the number at 10000.
| An addict land there are thousands who
keep their vice secret) demands at least
80 grains per day If he can get it. The
according to the American Journal Of
Nursing, is from 100000 to 1,000,0 900.
With the factories of Switzerland,
Germany, France, Holland, Turkey and
Japan officially known to be turning
out 20 times the amount needed for
medical and scientific purposes yearly.
the futility Of attempting to control the
illicit traffic in drugs is apparent. Ger
many,s production over four-year
cocaine, 146,561 pounds Of morphine
and 10000 pounds Of heroin. Accord
! ing to the Versailles treaty Berlin Is
permitted to deliver 1919 per cent, Is
per cent and Is per cent, respectively,
Of these drugs to the allies as repara-
lions in kind.
After careful inquiry the actual legiti-
mate needs Of the world in heroin, CO.
caine, morphine and allied drugs has
been computed For heroin the figure
is 100 kilograms annually. In 1929
more than Is tons-about 1880
Kilograms were manufactured. AS to
morphine, more than "a tons-68, 900
pounds-in excess of legitimate needs is
being produced annually and IL tons of
Of that lester" which was transformed
into codiene, went into the illicit traffic
In 1929, official reports indicate.
Shipments Are Denied.
At the same time the Turkish fac
tories reported in official declarations
that they had exported to Greece, Italy
and France 9,464 pounds of morphine
and to Italy, France, Germany, Greece
| and Danzig an equal amount of heroin
during six months of last year. The
countries named denied that the i'm
portation had been authorized or that
any trace of the drugs was found.
In the meantime raw material
opiun-is being produced by Persia at
the rate Of 958 tons, India. 869 tons:
Serbia, 102 tons, and Turkey, 566 tons
annually, to say nothing of an unre-
stricted production of coca leaves.
Whether the recently negotiated
treaty will make a dent In the terrible
traff1c remains to be seen. It has been
more than 80 years since the inter-
national drive on narcotics began and
20 years since The Hague Conference
yet the evil grows.
Sir John Campbell, British expert,
says:
"Given honesty and efficiency on the
part Of governments the problem could
be solved tomorrow