Adventure Magazine Cover — page 194: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

192 converted them into enemies of society—criminals, although eager to shake off their unhappy bondage. Helpless! In the face of the almost inconceivable accomplish- ments of Christian civilization, this horrible men- ace persists—and increases) EVERY NEW DAY BRINGS TO OUR CIVILIZED WORLD ONE THOUSAND NEW DRUG ADDICTS! Here, without question, is America’s most serious problem. ‘To face it squarely, to endeavor in a mea- sure to check its headlong progress, should be the duty of the combined forces of church and govern- ment, of fraternal and social groups, of each and every upright citizen whose intelligence can grasp the sinister significance of its tightening grip. “JUNK, JUNK PEDDLERS AND JUNKERS” By E. J. ROLLINGS NE of the most ghastly, loathsome and insidious ‘habit demons” in the world has built himself an American temple. To join his cult is to die a thousand torturing deaths, yet one million people in the United States have succumbed to the demon’s deadly black arts, and others are joining the ranks at the appalling rate of one thousand a day! The demon’s name is “DOPE.” His victims come from everywhere—your girl or my boy may be next! From the farms, from the small towns, from the city, from the best homes, the high priest of in- sanity and pain seizes his helpless subjects and crushes them under his inexorable heel. Men, wo- men, boys and girls, many of them with the best of blood in their veins, go from the sunshine of the peaceful countryside into the night of pain, horror and disgrace. The lawyer, the doctor, the business man, the preacher—no one is exempt! When the great Titanic, broken open by an ice- berg, carried a thousand lives to a watery grave, the world stood white and mute with horror; yet every day a thousand souls go down to worse than death, helpless victims of the powerful demon “DOPE.” JunxK “Junk” is the name applied by the underworld to Narcotic Drugs, Opium, and Cocaine, as well as to their derivatives, Morphine, Heroin, Yenche, Para- goric, Laudanum, etc. These drugs have a legiti- mate use for medicinal and bd ead purposes; but used illegitimately they become the greatest curse upon mankind. Morphine, a derivative of Opium, is the drug most commonly used, although the use of Cocaine is also very extensive. The use of Opium itself is not so prevalent, due to the fact that it requires an elabo- rate and expensive smoking outfit and a secluded room where windows and doors can be sealed to pre- vent the tell-tale odor from seeping out. The Mor- phine addict injects his “dope” by means of a hypo- dermic syringe. Failing to have a regular doctor’s hypodermic syringe, the addict will manufacture his own. For these reasons the average Opium smoker sooner or later becomes a Morphine addict. A Co- caine addict will always turn to Morphine also, be- cause Cocaine robs him of sleep and leaves him in a highly nervous state, while Morphine promises quick relief and sleep. So he, too, is driven to “M,” as it is called in the district. Adventure Regardless of which drug habit an addict may form first, eventually he will become a Morphine victim. Morphine is the common and popular drug, derived from Opium. World’s approximate yearly Opium production oo ic. orev oo tons, 1500 Number tons used for medicinal pur- Pe pac can ces Sips 53% Cae LeO Number tons sold illegitimately ........ .. 1375 About 200 pounds of Morphine may be derived from one ton of Opium. Thus we see how Mor- phine is obtained in large quantities after the Opium “smoking demand”’ is satisfied: Number tons Opium produced for illegiti- PAG SOIC ee. ayo os ee ee 5 Number tons for illegal smoking purposes ee ee ee) 200 pounds of Morphine derived from 1 ton of ium. 1300 excess tons gives us: 260,000 pounds 4,160,000 ounces 1,996,800,000 grains 7,987,200,000 doses or “‘shots” | Seven billion, nine hundred and eighty-seven mil- lion, two hundred thousand doses or ‘‘shots.” These figures fairly stifle the imagination, and yet they are a pitiful actuality—and each day brings an even higher total. Remember—this is just Morphine—we have said nothing about Cocaine and other narcotic drugs! The immediate effect of dope is exhilaration or peacefulness, happiness in sleep or contented wake- fulness, and relief from mental or physical pain. The ultimate result is a complete mental, moral and physical collapse, as well as theft, prostitution, mis- ery beyond comprehension. Junk PEDDLERS Dope peddling has two outstanding features; it is the most vicious business known, and it is the most profitable. The quantity of opium sold by the grower for $12 retails to the user on the streets for at least $7,000! No, this is not a misprint; just an unimaginable profit, warranted by an uncontrolable appetite, and collected by the most unscrupulous combine known. It is estimated that the dope ring receives from Michigan addicts alone approximately $100,000 per day. Do you remember the figures we looked at in the foregoing paragraphs? Two hundred sixty thousand pounds of morphine in excess of the amount required for legitimate purposes! This morphine is sold in ounce packages by the big peddler for $45 to $90 per ounce. The street peddler in turn makes his profit by putting it up in “checks” of about one-quarter grain, selling them to the addict for $1 each. These street peddlers make from three to four hundred dol- lars on a single ounce. Four hundred dollars an ounce profit on two hundred sixty thousand pounds! Use your pencil, and you will see why the dope ring attracts the most vicious criminals known to humanity. Generally well educated, well-dressed, apparent MICLOOO© SS (C@