THE OPIUM HABIT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7943, 18 January 1906, Page 3

THE OPIUM HABIT.

Some rather startling disclosures regarding the opium smoking, lauda-num-dri king, and morphia habits have just been made by Dr Aniess, medical superintendent of Melbourne Hospital. A number of quite young fellows—clerks, young men in good positions,, and respectable workmen of matured years, take their opium smoke, ho says, as regularly as Chinamen. When their day's work is over they call in at some Chinaman's and have their sixpennyworth. They argue that there is no more harm in doing this than . in drinking a glass of beer. About a dozen of acute cases of morphia victims reached the hospital every year. The most ingenious devices are adopted to gee the drug. Some times friends knowing. or believing, that a patient is being deprived or it, have sent it in, concealed in or newspapers. On one occasion a bottle of laudanum was found enclosed in a banana skin.*' One man used to take enough morphia in a day to kill fifty ordinary men." When morphia victims are admitted to the hospital they are deprived Tof the drug altogether. Depression sets in, attended with a certain amount of heart weakness. But there are never any bad results. Many cases are'admitted where persons oomplain of severe abdominal pains, and fancy they have developed appendicitis. Investigation discloses that they are simply suffering from opium oolio. Dr Amess, therefore, thinks the Government proclamation forbidding the importation of opium for other than medicinal purposes the best thing the Government has ever done. The proclamation, united with the new State law, making opium-smok-ing illegal, will, he believes, prove of incalculable benefit in stopping 8 growing and dangerous vice.