Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 170, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 July 1919 — MILLION “DRUG FIENDS” IN U. S. [ARTICLE]

MILLION “DRUG FIENDS” IN U. S.

Congress Gets Report of Investigation Conducted by Committee. PROMPT ACTION IS URGED Strict Enforcement of Law and Stopping of Smuggling From Canada and Mexico la Recommended —Lack'of Adequate Laws. Washington.—The 'Alarming spread of the narcotic drug habit in the United States is about to be called to the attention of congress in the report of an investigation conducted by a committee appointed by the secretary of the treasury. The chief findings of the committee are: The number of persons Id the United States addicted to the use of drugs “exceeds 1,000,000 at the present time.” Increase of the drug habit in the dry South leads many authorities to the conclusion that national prohibition will swell the number of victims of narcotics. Illegitimate supplies of opium and other drugs are smuggled from Mexico and Canada and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and furnished to 1,800 organized “dope” peddlers. Summary of Recommendations. The committee’s recommendations Include strict enforcement of the present federal anti-narcotic act; additional federal legislation; enforcement of state laws; concerted action on the part of state and municipal governments to suppress the illicit traffic; Stopping smuggling of dope from Canada and Mexico. “It is also recommended that educational campaigns be instituted in all parts of the United States for the purpose of informing the people of this country including the medical profession, of the seriousness of drug addiction and its extent in the United States,” says the report. The committee which made the Investigation consisted of Congressman Henry T. Rainey of Illinois, Prof. Reed ,S. Hunt, Harvard university; Deputy Commissioner B. C. Keith, internal revenue bureau, and Dr. A. G. Dumez, United States public health service. “The number of individuals addicted to the use of opium, its preparations or alkaloids, and coca leaves, their preparations or alkaloids, in the United States has at various times been estimated to be £rom 200,000 to 4,000,000,”-says the committee. “These estimates must, however, be looked upon as mere guesses. "Owing to the lack of laws and regulations making it compulsory for the registration of addicts, it has been impossible for the committee to obtain Information which would give the exact number of addicts in the United States. Causes of Drug Addiction. The causes of drug addiction in the order of frequency were given by police authorities as follows: Use of

physicians’ prescriptions, association with other addicts, prohibition, use of narcotie drags for chronic diseases, curiosity to learn the effect of the drug, prostitution, use of patent or proprietary medicines, use* of certain narcotic drugs as a stimulant, idleness, and use by dentists. “What effect, if any, nation-wide prohibition will have on the situation could not be definitely determined by the committee,” the report says. “The consensus appears to be that the number of addicts will Increase as soon as the prohibition laws are enforced. This opinion apparently receives some support from investigations made in some of the southern states where prohibition has been In effect for some years.”