CHAPTER XL 



NARCOTICS AND STIMULANTS 



Characteristics. Narcotics are substances which 

 decrease the activity of the brain. If taken in large 

 doses, they cause a person to fall into a kind of stupor 

 or a deep sleep. The commonest narcotics are tobacco, 

 morphine, laudanum, and opium. 



Stimulants, on the other hand, increase the activity 

 of the organs of the body. Commonly used stimulants 

 are alcohol, tea, coffee, strychnine, and belladonna. 

 Some of these, such as alcohol, act as stimulants in 

 moderate doses and when first taken into the body. In 

 large doses following this stimulating effect, they 

 produce a stupor similar to that resulting from 

 narcotics. 



Neither narcotics nor stimulants are necessary in 

 order that the body may perform its functions properly. 

 Moreover, it is a well-known fact that persons who 

 have become slaves to the use of either are not as 

 successful and happy as those who do not use them. 



Tobacco. Tobacco consists of the dried leaves of the 

 tobacco plant grown extensively in many parts of the 

 south as well as in other warm climates. The active 

 substance in tobacco is nicotine, a deadly poison. Like 



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