The narcotic drug problemBishop, Ernest S. (Ernest Simons)
Science
The narcotic drug problem
Bishop, Ernest S. (Ernest Simons)
Drug addiction
Color, nationality, social or economic position, age, mental and moral
attributes of whatever sort are no bar to the development of the
condition. These may influence, of course, the conduct and incidental
manifestations of the individual addicted, just as they do in any
other condition. The addicted judge, or the addicted physician, or the
addicted clergyman, or the addicted man of business or other affairs,
or the addicted clerk or industrial worker reacts differently to
the sufferings and trials of narcotic drug addiction than does the
addict of the underworld, or the heroin “sniffer” of idle and curious
adolescence, or the addicted defective, degenerate, or criminal. Also
he reacts differently to everything else. What is true of one man who
has opiate addiction may be absolutely false of another. One narcotic
addict is honest, competent, truthful and intelligent. Another is
dishonest, incompetent, untruthful and incapable of appreciation or
self-control. Neither the one set of attributes, nor the other, is
peculiar to narcotic addicts. They are simply personal attributes
possessed by different men and types of men who may or may not be
narcotic addicts. If the addict of a higher type displays at times
attributes not typical of his preaddicted days, and seems to show a
lowering of his mental and ethical tone, it is well to estimate in
his case the influences of past worry, fear, suffering, strain and
struggle, the attitude of society, medical and lay, towards him, and
the manner in which he has been handled, before blaming it all upon the
mere presence and effects of narcotic drug addiction, or of narcotic
drug. If such changes were inherent in the action of continued narcotic
drug medication, they would be found in all addicts, whereas the fact
is that they most decidedly are not.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account