DRUG VICTIMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 7 January 1922, Page 4

DRUG VICTIMS.

( THE CURSE OF COCAINE. ) (By A. H.H.) , Attention to the evils of - the drugtaking habit was drawn by a case that came before a Sydney Court last week in which a naan was charged with pretending to be a doctor, the object of his imposition being to secure cocaine and morphia to satisfy his abnormal craving. While cases such as this, where a person with education and social opportunities is utterly ruined by the drug habit, arc still comparatively rare in Australia, there is no doubt that the evil is growing. Particularly has this been the case in Europe since the war. The correspondent of a London newspaper recently reported that the alarming increase in the cocaine habit had led to the arrest of 14 persons, including a chemist, a doctor of science, and several hotelkeepers. They were charged with trfficking in the drug. A doctor who was summoned to attend three dancrv o - n I'Ocvf n-nvo-n+. frmnrl +,V»a+. all

llig girts Mb it I belli I Clill* lUUIIU yuttU au were suffering from overdoses of co-' caine. So much for Switzerland. In France the cocaine habit admittedly has become a national scourge, and in England cases are constantly coming under public notice, showing that the traffic in cocaine is carried on on a large scale. What is the secret of the drug that has made so many slaves in recent years —that has supplanted other “dopes” so that where one formerly spokeJ of “opium eaters” or “morphia maniacs” one now speaks of “cocaine fiends” ? 'For centuries the coca or cuca plant has been cultivated in South America. The leaves contain about one per cent of the alkaloid cocaine, and the Peruvian Indians are in the habit of chewing them wrapped around a piece of lime, as the East Indian* and Malayans chew betel nut. Just as in India the moderate use of opium has caused no great harm, so in Peru the cocaplant has been used much as the Europeans use alcohol—a good thing in moderation, but a bad thing to take too much of. In India a native clad in a cotton garment and caught in a tropical rainstorm will slip a pellet of opium into his mouth and escape the pneumonia or stomach cramps that might otherwise have been the result. In Peru a native chewing coca leaves can at a pinch go three days without food, because the anaesthetic action of cocaine on the mucous membrane of the. stomach deadens the pangs of hunger. lie can climb mountains without fatigue, for cocaine undoubtedly enhnlhces hysicnl powers for the time being. Excess of coca chewing among the Peruvian Indians, however, leads in many cases to great bodily wasting, mental failure, poor circulation, indigestion and insomnia. Drugs, like diseases, do the deadliest work when freshly introduced. Opium when introduced to China did more - harm in a generation than it had done in India in centuries. Alcohol, which European sailors took to excess with comparative impunity,' has killed thousands of South Sea Islanders. So rtonaihe, which to the .Peruvian is what a glass of ale is to the Englishman is reaping a deadly toll among the white races. Even before the war the cocaine habit was causing concern in the United States —a nation where the people live and work at high pressure and are more neurotic than the people of England or Australia

There are three ways of taking coca ine—hypodermic injection, sniffling up thp nose in powdered form, and dissolving a tablet under the tongue. In the first case the drug goes directly to the blood and acts quickly. Tn the other forms it is absorbed through the mucous membrane. Owing to its unpleasantly bitter taste, it Is not often taken in the mouth. The effect is a sensation of physical and mental wellbeing. There is none of the blurring effect of alcohol, with its purely illusive sense of increased power. Hashish, or Indian hemp, is said to give commonplace objects a wonderful colouring and make the taker imagine himself a. glorious giant, supremely happy in his superiority.' There is nothing like that in cocaine. If it were administered secretly the recipient would not he aware that he had taken anything, hut he would feel well, strong hftppy, keen-witted. And there would be no illusion about it. Tn that lies the peril of cocaine. If the dose was moderate there would no appreciable reaction, hut if later on if it was reported reaction would come—some days latter perhaps—in the form of depression, and a craving tor some mental stimulant. If the desire was yielded to the taker in nine cases out of ten could be counted ns a sure victim/ Wliat it means to a cocaine victim was graphically told by a Frenchwoman who was encountered hy M. de Monnereau, who recently investigated the traffic in Paris for the “Echo de Paris” He :f,onind‘ it easy to buy cocaine at night cafes and even hotels.

Only in one case was ho refused. A woman dancer agreed to let him have thi%e grammes, but then asked him: “Hhve you been taking it?” He replied : ‘No” hut that he wanted to try. She turned on him a miserable madeup face, told him he was a fool, and nad better go somewhere elße. “I know too much;” she said passionately. “If yon are tired of life, throw yourself into the Seine. Some decent follow will fish you out, and you’ll have had enough of the water and will not try again. But cocaine! Within three months yon will be ruined and in six you’ll be a thief, and perhaps a murderer. No one will worn you, unless it is myself, who have oome to the state you see, to beg my own daily ration of poison.” The value of cocaine as a stimulant constitutes its peril. Members of the medical profession are among its victims. A surgeon about to perform a big operation might take a dose if he felt off colour, confident in his strength to resist any temptation to make it a habit. He might have that strength but it is equally probable that he would end up by becoming a cocaine fiend. It will be recalled that after the last Olympic Games some of the Australians complained that American and Continental competitors were fortified by “dope” whioh gave them an advantage over the others. 'A per centage of these men may even now be confirmed cocaine takers. That of course, is not to say that every one who resorts to cocaine must became a slave of the habit. Some men are fortunate in possessing a command of their appe-

titles that would always be a safe guard. For instance, several years ago a prominent American boxer visiting Australia always fought under the influence of cocaine. Early in liis career he had broken bones in both hands and I the pain caused when he delivered a ! blow would have prevented him boxing had he not had cocaine injected into his hands as an anaesthetic. That was repeated every time he hoxed in a contest, yet he is still boxing in America, which would be impossible bad lie degenerated into a ‘'dope fiend. In contrast is a case reported some months ago in the London Press of an officer in the Air force who served with distinction in the war. He was engaged in bombing German towns by night, and took cocaine to steady his nei ves f or his perilous exploits. He became a slave to the drug with the result that less than three years after the armistice lie lmd gone from bad to worse and was sent to prison for criminal fraud. Journalists in search for copy, i men and women in search of a new . sensation, have experimented with nnii.m nml hashish, but to experiment

wfith cucaino is to play, with fire. Once a victim, cure is difficult—in most coses impossible. Still some doctors oan work wonders by the power of suggestion. A sad but interesting case some time ago was that of a Sydney woman of means who acquired the cocaine habit. With her health almost ruined and her nerves in rags the aid of a specialist was sought. He persuaded the patient that she could he cured without giving up cocaine. She was kept at home and each day receive ed hypodermic injections from the doe- , tor. Gradually those were diluted until only a few drops of distilled water entered her veins, yet she still imagined she was receiving the stimulant of cocaine. Her health improved and recovery was in sight, when an indiscreet friend more from folly than wickedness told the patient the truth. The result was a furious paroxysm of rage, refusal to see the doctor, and a return to the path of destruction. The cocaine habit usually starts by , the drug being resorted to for the purpose of temporary stimulus or to counteract temporary depression. The ■ criminal classes use it—particularly in , America, it steadies the nerves of the housebreaker or the highway robber, and makes him reckless of consequences. ! Eut in the end, cocaine kikes its revenge from all. One reason why Aus tralia is in less danger than the coun- ■ tries of Europe is to be found in the sunny climate, and healthy conditions of li/e, which minimise physical and mental depression. None the less, the , authorities should be on their guard. Traffic in cocaine should he watched for with oversea visitors, and precautions should bo taken to exclude newcomers. who have become victims to the curse of cocaine i ! [ I 1