344  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association  i 'Am-TJ?nr;JfJann- 
resulting  from  the  use  of  cocaine,  as  there  are  100  victims  of  these 
drugs  to  one  of  cocaine. 
Cocaine  habitues  are  only  found  in  isolated  spots,  mostly  in  the 
larger  cities,  whereas  every  little  village  or  town  is  daily  adding  to 
the  large  army  of  those  who  are  "  Walking  in  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  Death  "  by  way  of  the  opium  route. 
In  our  city,  which  I  find  no  worse  than  other  cities  in  the  State, 
there  are  no  users  of  cocaine  at  all,  but  over  twenty-five  regular 
users  of  morphine  and  opium,  and  in  our  county,  containing  about 
25,000  people,  I  could  not  find  one  case  of  cocaine  habit  but  found 
100  would  be  a  low  estimate  of  the  number  of  regular  users  of 
narcotic  drugs. 
I  do  not  think  the  proportion  in  the  larger  cities  is  any  less,  so 
in  your  city  alone  it  would  be  safe  to  estimate  that  there  are  over 
8000  victims  of  the  morphine  habit  and  in  the  State  more  than 
25,000. 
Students  of  the  social  problem  claim  that  a  large  proportion  of 
prostitutes  are  victims  of  narcotic  drugs,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  a  great  many  have  fallen  from  respectable  womanhood  to  the 
lowest  depths  through  the  use  of  morphine  and  opium. 
Our  Association  should  go  on  record  not  only  as  favoring  such 
a  law,  but  as  using  every  means  to  secure  a  Law  which  will  limit 
the  use  of  these  dangerous  drugs  to  legitimate  purposes. 
A  better  and  fairer  law  can  be  drawn  by  our  Association  than  by 
persons  knowing  nothing  of  the  actual  conditions,  and  as  a  law  will 
be  passed  eventually  it  would  be  only  a  matter  of  business  wisdom 
for  us  to  lead  instead  of  being  whipped  into  line. 
What  this  may  mean  to  us  can  be  shown  by  a  single  example. 
The  insistance  of  President  Wallace  as  chairman  of  the  Legislative 
Committee  on  the  insertion  in  the  Drugs  Law  of  the  Label  exemp- 
tion clause,  and  the  declaration  only  (not  percentage)  of  the  pres- 
ence of  the  specified  drugs  saved  every  druggist  in  the  State  the 
immediate  expenditure  of  from  $10  to  $25  for  new  labels,  and  also 
from  the  danger  of  violating  the  law  in  not  giving  exact  percentages 
which  in  some  cases  would  be  hard  to  figure  out. 
In  conclusion  I  extend  to  you  all  on  behalf  of  the  State  Associa- 
tion a  cordial  invitation  to  come  to  Buena  Vista  on  June  28,  29  and 
30.  You  will  enjoy  your  vacation  in  Pennsylvania's  most  beautiful 
and  delightful  mountain  region  at  a  time  of  the  year  when  all  nature 
is  at  her  best,  and  in  addition  your  presence  and  interest  will  aid 
in  the  work  for  the  advancement  of  Pennsylvania  pharmacy. 
