Detroit evening times., 1945-11-18

loved by the IT, s. Department Of Commerce
Wgures, showing an increase in five years from
Az million to 2l2 billion grains In other words
the total of doses taken every year has jumped 70
a grand total of five billion allowing half grain
to dose AT last reports it was S2oOOooo1
industry. Experts on the subject believe that the
next figures will nearly double this. Uncle Sam
is on an unparalleled barbiturate binge
Among some drug manufacturers the incentive
10 push sales mountainousy high is great, since
the profit is large Any company can perfect
a new barbturate by having its chemists slightly
alter the molecular structure of a previously
made barbiturate
The new product then may be patented under
trade name. and the sale price of the product
can be fixed by the maker
Since the makers decide their prices.
the limit is what the trade will bear; steadily
rising sales are reflected in steadily rising returns
CLEEPTNG lls-barbiturates-made newspaper
- headlines last year when the famous evangelist.
Sister Aimee Semple Mcpherson, founder of the
FourSquare Gospel and leader of its thronged
Los Angeles Tevivas, found dying in an Oak.
land hotel room. Two physicians summoned
hastily and apparently acting with equal haste,
gave heart attack the cause Of death.
This is a common error in barbiturate poison.
ings. How they happened 10 overlook a red
capsule near the dying womans cheek, and four
others in the bed. has not been explained.
The authorities were more observant. An
autopsy was performed and the death reported
due 10 undetermined causes" Analysis showed
traces of barbiturate White mice injected with
secretons from the body died in four hours.
AT the inquiry, DR.. Rolf Mcpherson, the re-
vivalistS son. testified that she had been acCus.
toned 10 take the drug 10 calm her nerves after
the excitement and emotional strain of a revival
service. She had formed a habit, probably
without realizing it. Certainly her personal physi-
clan knew nothing of it. He had never pre-.
ibed barbiturates for her, nor would he have
~Bhe 80 without warning her of the danger con
sequent upon over.use. The container in which
the drug came bore neither warning, stated
dosage. indication of the source as re. d
qurcd by California law.
Suicide suspected at first But
there is more probable explanation. The
barbiturates not only lull the nerves and
Stupefy the mind they also impair the
memory IL is logical 10 suppose that Sis
ter Aimee, having dropped into drugged "a
sleep from her usual bedtime dose half -
woke up some time in the night duly con.
sciouS OF nervousness; that, having no ~
memory OF the capsules already ingeSted
she inStlnCtively reached for more, and that NJ
the more proved too much Z
What are these barbturates? All have
a common base in bdrbturic acid. dcriva-
tive OF coal tar. a German chemist Emil M
Fischer experimenting in 1903, trans.
formed the inert barbiturc acid into di.
ethyl batbiturin. which ne named vcronal
Since then some 300 variants have been
turned out Of the chemical laboratories, of
which 90 are in general use Most familiar I y
OF these Synthetcs are phenobarbtal pen ~
tobarbital. nembutal, SeConal and amytaf
In their original form they are an odorleSS
almost taSteleSS, white crystalline powder
Manufacturers making up the various
types for the trade, give them different colorS.
white pills and red. yellow orange. blue and green
capsules They look as harmless as so many
sugar pills. Too often they reach the public with
no sufficient indication that they are not as limo.
cent they look