AsTPtembrCTf  i9™' }    Number  and  Kind  of  Drug  Addicts.  415 
number  of  uses  you  will  find  for  it.  You  can  granulate  castile  soap 
for  making  soap  liniment;  you  can  granulate  opium,  if  you  make 
preparations  of  that  drug;  and  you  can  granulate  almonds  and  make 
your  almond  meal  from  real  almonds. 
THE  NUMBER  AND  KIND  OF  DRUG  ADDICTS.1 
By  M.  I.  Wilbert,  Washington,  D.  C. 
In  recent  years  social  workers,  reformers,  and  newspaper  writers 
generally  have  vied  with  each  other  in  the  presentation  of  startling 
data  regarding  the  number  and  kind  of  drug  addicts  in  this  country. 
In  doing  so  they  have  established  the  general  impression  that  those 
engaged  in  the  various  branches  of  medicine,  and  particularly  those 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  pharmacy,  have  been  delinquent  in  that 
they  have  failed  to  safeguard  the  sale  and  distribution -of  habit-form- 
ing drugs  with  the  care  that  properly  should  have  been  exercised. 
Among  the  statements  frequently  met  with  in  current  papers  and 
periodicals  the  following  are  representative : 
"  More  than  two  per  cent,  of  the  people  of  this  country  are 
addicted  to  the  use  of  opium  and  cocaine,  and  this  number  is  being 
augmented  at  the  rate  of  100,000  a  year." 
•  "Fully  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  opium  we  import  is  used  for 
illegitimate  purposes." 
"  For  every  ounce  of  cocaine  employed  legitimately  there  are 
200  ounces  consumed  illegitimately." 
"  Physicians  are  responsible  for  at  least  ninety-five  per  cent,  of 
the  habitual  users  of  opium,  its  compounds  and  alkaloidal  salts." 
"  More  dope  fiends  have  been  created  by  the  refilling  of  prescrip- 
tions than  in  any  other  way." 
"  At  least  ten  per  cent,  of  the  45,000  drug  stores  in  the  country 
exist  largely  upon  the  illegitimate  sale  of  habit-forming  drugs." 
"  Many  of  the  proprietary  remedies  sold  to  the  laity  contain  a 
sufficient  amount  of  dope  to  develop  and  to  maintain  a  drug  habit." 
"  The  use  of  heroin  as  a  '  kicker '  in  patent  medicines  is  com- 
paratively common." 
"  The  Harrison  law,  excellent  so  far  as  it  goes,  is  effectively 
1  Presented  at  the  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Associa- 
tion, Forest  Park,  Pa.,  June  22-24,  191 5. 
