"SNOW."

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3559, 20 September 1916, Page 7

"SNOW."

COCAINE AND SOLDIERS.

A BIG LONDON SCANDAL

LONDON, July .27. btriking revelations as to the promiscuous sale of cocaine by what appears to be an organised gang of men were made before Mr Denman, at Marlborough Street, when nine men were charged with selling cocaine to 'members of his Majesty's forces." The traffic in cocaine has reached the dimensions of a big scandal, and, unhappily, the craze has spread among soldiers. The drug is taken in the form ot snuff. It is a white, crystalline powder that resembles snow, under which name it is commonly bought and sold. The police took the matter in hand, and the existence of a big organisation for the sale of the drug was | disclosed.

/The chief agents are men/mostly, of foreign almost all of illrepute. .These procure the drug—how and where is not exactly known—and sell it in small quantities at an enormous profit. Thus a small box that costs 3d is generally sold for 2s 6d— furnishing a profit of nearly. 1000 per cent. The actual distributors arc usually women—and women of a certain class. These sell it to other women* and to soldiers. The method'of distribution is borrowed from the j counterfeiters—one woman acts as

"carrier," and is in possession of a number of boxes of the drug, and another undertakes the actual sale, in single boxes. It is now known that several groups of cocaine traders are at work in London alone, and they employ or purvey the drug to a large number of agents.

Tho police are hampered by this disadvantage—that while under the Defence of the R.ealm Act they may now arrest, without *a warrant, any person caught supplying, or conniving to supply, cocaine to soldiers, civilians may j purchase or be in possession of it—and thus indirectly assist the traffic among j soldiers—without risk of punishment. Police Proceedings.

Mr Muskett prosecuted in the case at Marlborough Street. He said the charges were framed under an order of the Defence of the Realm regulations, making it a summary offence for any person to sell to any member of his Majesty's Forces iiny narcotic or stimulating drug except under specified conditions, one of which was that it should ba ordered by a registered medical practitioner, the seller being required to label it with his name and address. Cocaine was one of the drugs scheduled under the order. The police authorities had had the- distribution of this drug under their consideration for some time, but great difficulty was experienced in settling the responsibility of certain parties. It had been ascertained that since the outbreak of the war cocaine had been brought to this country in powder form by certain of the Oversea Forces from Canada. It was disposed of to purchasers in small pill boxes, and taken in the form of snuff through the nostril. Its immediate effect was to create an extraordinary exhilaration, and the habit grew in the case of habitual takers, of whom there were hundreds, in this country. The symptoms were those of alcoholism, the victim heard voices, the moral and; physical senses were deadened, and insanity and death followed. The authorities, counsel represented, considered the legislation on the subject quite inadequate, as it dealt only with the sale of the drug to his Majesty's Forces; but if the Court Swould express the view that its sale to anyone except under such restrictions as might be imposed . should bo rendered unlawful, a great step in the right direction would be made, and might influence Parliament in passing the necessary legislation. A box when full weighed no more than a grain and a half, and the ordinary dose taken was a tenth to a quarter of a grain. Every attempt had been made to ascertain the sources from which the largo quantities disposed of had been obtained, but it was found impossible to procure evidenco upon which to base proceedings which would result in adequate penalties. Mr I)enman sentenced the prisoners to several months' imprisonment with hard labour, and ordered certain men to be deported. Sergeant Gilbert Smith, of the Canadian Forces., who had tracked down the offenders, was complimented by the Magistrate, and told that he had done great 'service to the country.