{"id":4140,"date":"1968-09-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"1968-09-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/september-1968-vol-49-no-9-misuse-of-drugs-some-facts\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T01:05:32","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T01:05:32","slug":"september-1968-vol-49-no-9-misuse-of-drugs-some-facts","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/september-1968-vol-49-no-9-misuse-of-drugs-some-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"September 1968 &#8211; VOL. 49, No. 9 &#8211; Misuse of Drugs.&#8221; Some Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">Society is greatly troubled by wide-spread                     reports of the use of drugs in harmful ways. This concern                     arises from the fact that we do not now have to go to the                     underworld to find people who abuse drugs, but come upon them                     in all social classes and in all economic divisions.<\/p>\n<p> No clear guidance is at hand about what steps to take. The                     general ignorance about the nature and effect of various drugs                     may be traced to the moral detestation most people have of                     the improper use of drugs, and their consequent inclination                     not to think about this unpalatable subject. Without information                     about the incidence of the habit, and about the legal, medical                     and social treatment of it, and the causes that give rise                     to it, people are at a loss.<\/p>\n<p>Account must be taken by those who are leaders in their                     communities of these undoubted facts: in a mere half century                     man has been flipped from the horse and buggy into the jet                     plane and space travel, and within man himself old faiths                     have crumbled without the development of strong new faiths                     to replace them. These events cause hitherto unknown stresses.                     The pressures and demands of society are too much for some                     people, and they turn to drugs.<\/p>\n<p>There is, however, a healthy spirit in Canada of disbelief                     in drugs as the answer to weak knees and sick souls. As individuals                     and as a nation we cannot allow ourselves to sink into the                     position forecast by Aldous Huxley in his <em>Brave New World                     <\/em>where all we need to do if we feel worried, anxious,                     or upset is to take a pill.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, we are conscious that some people find it                     easier to turn to chemical comfort than to learn to handle                     their problems in a mature way. Having found a substance that                     relieves his feelings, a man may return to it again and again                     for help. Thus he becomes accustomed to depending upon the                     drug instead of upon his own inner resources and those offered                     by his family, by his church, by science and by society.<\/p>\n<p>What is the condition of the person who allows himself to                     become dependent upon drugs? It was strikingly described by                     Dr. S. J. Holmes, Consultant Psychiatrist with the Alcoholism                     and Drug Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario, to whose                     articles and papers this <em>Letter <\/em>is indebted for much                     basic and up-to-date information.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Holmes said to the Section of Psychiatry, Academy of                     Medicine, Toronto: &#8220;We can depict man&#8217;s moods as an ever-changing                     pattern or spectrum. From hour to hour, influenced by inner                     and outer events, man&#8217;s ego moves to and fro across this spectrum.                     At one end of the spectrum lies melancholia or depression;                     at the other end is mania or extreme agitation. A normal person                     stays in the middle range, straying into the extreme regions                     only rarely; if and when he does enter these regions, his                     social, psychological, endocrine and other biochemical factors                     adjust, and harmony occurs. In the emotionally sick person                     this healthy adjustment does not take place. The person at                     the agitated end of the spectrum is tense and anxious, and                     will respond to a drug that will soothe or tranquillize; the                     person at the opposite end, whose load of depression is so                     heavy that he can&#8217;t raise his head and whose life is empty,                     meaningless, valueless and void, will respond to a mood elevator.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In other words, an individual takes drugs because they offer                     an easy short-cut way of escape from the reality in which                     he is involved.<\/p>\n<p>We must be careful in our application of the word &#8220;drug&#8221;.                     A drug is anything used as a medicine, and the preparation                     of drugs has been an honourable profession for many centuries.<\/p>\n<p>Pharmacy had its beginnings when human beings first recognized                     a sensation of pain and consciously administered something                     in an effort to relieve their discomfort. It may have been                     a bundle of plant leaves wrapped around an open wound, or                     perhaps a broth of tree bark drunk to relieve a burning fever.<\/p>\n<p>The pharmaceutical industry has been continuous in its search                     for better medicines. As research has progressed and as more                     specific medications have become available, mankind has been                     able to eliminate many of the diseases which were formerly                     prevalent and of serious statistical importance.<\/p>\n<p>However, drugs are not always taken with common sense. They                     are used by people who feel small in the face of the complexities                     of life, by people who seek a temporary feeling of importance,                     by people who wish to depress their anxiety or to raise their                     spirits, or by people who desire to experience hallucinations.                     It is this unnatural self-indulgence that is the damaging                     use of drugs.<\/p>\n<h3>What drugs do<\/h3>\n<p>Dr. Erik Jacobsen, of Copenhagen, co-discoverer of a substance                     used in the treatment of alcoholism, suggests that there are                     five properties of drugs that induce people to use them: (1)                     They may combat fatigue ( stimulants such as caffeine, cocaine,                     and amphetamine; (2) They may raise a person&#8217;s mood ( alcohol,                     barbiturates, morphine, amphetamine, meprobamate; (3) They                     may banish worries ( alcohol, tobacco, morphine, meprobamate,                     barbiturates; (4) They may induce sleep ( barbiturates, chloral                     hydrate, alcohol; (5) They may bring dreams ( morphine, cocaine,                     marijuana, mescaline, lysergic acid (LSD).<\/p>\n<p>In the general run of cases there is little danger of becoming                     a drug addict if taking the drug is properly supervised by                     a competent physician. It is improper use of drugs that raises                     problems, proceeding from habituation to dependency and addiction.<\/p>\n<p>For some people, under some circumstances, any small amount                     of certain substances is too much. They may form a relationship                     with the drug that pushes them over the edge into dependency.                     They are tempted to continue, to increase their consumption,                     and finally they find themselves unable to stop. They have                     increased the tolerance of their metabolic and nervous systems                     so that they need more and more of the drug to attain the                     same effect.<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization defines addiction in this                     way: &#8220;Drug addiction is a state of periodic or chronic intoxication                     produced by the repeated consumption of a drug (natural or                     synthetic). Its characteristics include: (1) An overpowering                     desire or need to continue taking the drug and to obtain it                     by any means; (2) A tendency to increase the dose; (3) A psychic                     (psychological) and generally a physical dependence on the                     effects of the drug; (4) Detrimental effect on the individual                     and society.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The danger is not only psychological, but physical. In seeking                     fast relief for his anxieties a man may reduce his awareness                     of symptoms which warn him of severe physical disease. Then                     he finds himself laid low by an ailment which, drawn to a                     physician&#8217;s attention in time, could have been cured or relieved.<\/p>\n<p>Some drugs are regarded as being so dangerous that every                     possible measure is taken by Parliament and its agencies,                     by the medical profession and by pharmacists, to prevent their                     use for non-medical purposes. These drugs may interfere with                     bodily or mental functions in such a way as to harm the individual                     and also to endanger other people.<\/p>\n<h3>Unaware of danger<\/h3>\n<p>Ignorance is the cause of much distress due to drugs. People                     are unaware of the serious danger to their personality that                     can result from habituation, or even the smallest uncontrolled                     experiment with psychoactive drugs such as LSD and STP. Many                     young people have said that they might not have been curious                     enough to try drugs if they had known more about them.<\/p>\n<p>One thing is certain. If young people on the verge&nbsp;,                     of becoming dependent upon a drug for relief from this or                     that physical or psychological distress felt free to visit                     a doctor without a feeling of guilt and without fearing that                     they would be ridiculed, lectured, sermonized, or punished,                     there would be less danger of addiction. Medical people are,                     in the tradition of their profession, eager and willing to                     lend assistance and leadership. It must be made known to the                     young people that the help will be given without censure.<\/p>\n<p>Most addicts are quite ambivalent in their desires with                     regard to drugs, says Dr. Holmes, &#8220;They have a desire to stop                     using which we can strengthen by acceptance and understanding                     at all times whether initially or during relapse.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Family responsibility<\/h3>\n<p>There is a general belief that much of the venture into                     drug-taking among young people stems from unsatisfying family                     life. At some stage, the young person has failed to find in                     his family that degree of understanding he expected. He has                     been blocked in his search for maturity. He has not been given                     assurance that he belongs in the scheme of things. He has                     been forced to look elsewhere for satisfaction, perhaps within                     a self that is distorted and deceived by drugs, or among a                     group also experiencing the hedonistic state of rebellion                     against parents, teachers and society.<\/p>\n<p>Police have found that most parents are incredulous when                     they are told that their children are indulging in drugs.                     The police do not call at a home on such an errand in any                     spirit of persecution or of reproach, but to inform the parents                     and give them a chance to serve and save their children.<\/p>\n<p>Wise parents will welcome the warning and respond to it                     intelligently. They will not rant at their children, but will                     first take a critical look at the state of their family as                     a family. They will inquire into their own behaviour. Perhaps                     they have neglected some constructive parental functions because                     they were busy with business, sport or social doings. Perhaps                     they have avoided administering needed discipline because                     they thought it old-fashioned. Perhaps they have overlooked                     this and that breach of what is expected of children because                     they wanted the children to have more pleasure out of life                     than they had. Perhaps they have no family programme to develop                     sound personality.<\/p>\n<p>Then, having started at the root cause, they will go on                     to correct the defects. They will seek the help of professionally                     qualified people for the rehabilitation of their children.                     They will rebuild the family as a household distinguished                     for its mutual interests, its close relationships, its affectionate                     loyalties, its bond of union in which the welfare of every                     member, whatever his needs may be, is recognized as the responsibility                     of all.<\/p>\n<p>Such a family will give no foothold to the ugliness of habituation                     to drugs. Partnership in it will fulfil the emotional needs                     of children, and keep their standards of thought and behaviour                     far above the shoddy debauchment offered by drugs.<\/p>\n<h3>Some common drugs<\/h3>\n<p>It is well to know the properties of various drugs, so as                     to understand their effects and their dangers. Dr. Holmes                     lists them in this way: (1) Sedative ( a drug which depresses                     the central nervous system, especially at its higher levels,                     so as to allay nervousness, anxiety, fear and excitement;                     (2) Hypnotic ( used to induce sleep; (3) Tranquillizer ( promotes                     the sense of calmness and well-being without that degree of                     depression of the central nervous system commonly associated                     with the action of sedatives or hypnotics; (4) Stimulant (                     by its action on the central nervous system it temporarily                     enhances wakefulness and alertness, improves mood and lessens                     the sense of fatigue; (5) Narcotic ( a term commonly limited                     to drugs like opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.                     It is a criminal offence for anyone to grow, import, sell                     or possess a narcotic drug unless authorized.<\/p>\n<p>The 1962 figures from the Narcotic Control Division of the                     Department of Health and Welfare indicate that there are at                     least 3,656 narcotic addicts in the country. The records of                     the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from March 1966 to March                     1967 show that there were 943 narcotics convictions, and in                     the same period 1967-1968 there were 1,915 convictions.<\/p>\n<p>Opium is of little significance in Canada&#8217;s illicit market.                     It is smoked almost exclusively by small groups of older persons                     of oriental extraction. It is used as the source of material                     for production of several beneficial drug products such as                     laudanum and paregoric.<\/p>\n<p>Heroin is made by acetylating morphine which is obtained                     from opium. It is available only on the illicit market, its                     import and manufacture having been prohibited since 1955.                     Another compound found in opium is codeine, which can also                     be made from morphine. This does not appear in contraband                     traffic to any extent.<\/p>\n<p>Cocaine, extracted from the leaves of the coca plant, has                     been used medicinally for many years as a local anaesthetic,                     but is used improperly for its stimulating effect on the nervous                     system. It first affects the brain, causing restlessness and                     excitement, and then moves through the rest of the nervous                     system. Cocaine is not common in the illicit market because                     of its cost and its short-lived effect.<\/p>\n<p>The drug benzamphetamine, otherwise known as &#8220;pep pills&#8221;                     and internationally called amphetamine, arouses mental energy,                     abolishes fatigue, and gives a feeling of liveliness. Dr.                     Jacobsen says this drug is not yet obsolete, but the world                     has changed. Our cultural pattern has &#8220;changed its slogan                     from &#8216;efficiency&#8217; to &#8216;deliver us from our hurry and worries&#8217;.&#8221;                     As a consequence the leaning is toward &#8220;peace&#8221; tablets instead                     of energizing pills.<\/p>\n<p>Hallucinogenic drugs, those which loosen the mind, have                     the ability to induce sharp changes in states of awareness,                     perception, and communication. Some personalities like the                     &#8220;way out feeling&#8221; provided by such drugs as LSD 25.<\/p>\n<p>The abusive use of LSD is entirely dependent upon illicit                     sources of supply. Regulation by the government since 1963                     controlled the distribution of LSD by the one pharmaceutical                     company manufacturing the pure drug to a limited number of                     investigators. Then growing publicity about the exciting experiences                     users obtained created a new underground drug industry engaged                     in the making and distribution of this dangerous drug.<\/p>\n<p>Users of LSD, many of them in the hippie or beatnik fringe,                     mistake apparent profundity of thought for high intellectual                     standards. They suffer delusions in their effort to interpret                     the peculiar things happening to them. They have chronic anxiety                     reactions, and drift aimlessly through life without social                     achievements to enrich their lives. They lay themselves open                     to premature death, because LSD thwarts or removes natural                     protective attitudes, sensible judgment, and the ability to                     perceive and evaluate common dangers.<\/p>\n<p>Marijuana is not a new drug. As long ago as 1936 its use                     was a serious problem in the United States, where it had appeared                     in high school circles and among other groups where narcotics                     had never before been a problem. In the treatment and cure                     of disease this drug has no value whatever, but it has become                     the subject of debate as to its addiction liability, as a                     cause of crime, and as the prelude to heroin addiction.<\/p>\n<p>The principal effect of marijuana is upon the mind, says                     a report of the United States Treasury Department. &#8220;Its continued                     use produces pronounced mental deterioration in many cases.                     Its more immediate effect apparently is to remove the normal                     inhibitions of the individual and release any antisocial tendencies                     which may be present.&#8221; It may cause dangerous distortions                     in time, space, motion and behaviour. It may give rise to                     violent aggressiveness and uncontrolled violence.<\/p>\n<p>The House of Commons was told in March 1968 that there had                     been 1,415 prosecutions for offences involving the use of                     marijuana in the preceding eleven months, compared to 94 prosecutions                     in the previous twelve months.<\/p>\n<p>Tranquillizers are drugs which have a calming influence                     on worries, true or imaginary. Some are known to be addictive.                     Useful when properly used, tranquillizers are not intended                     for those who seek a chemically created world of tranquillity.                     Their habitual improper use contributes nothing toward building                     a problem-free way of life.<\/p>\n<p>If barbiturates have been left to the last in this survey                     of drugs, it is not because they are unimportant. Their improper                     use presents a growing menace to society. Properly supervised,                     barbiturates have a wide range of valuable medical uses. They                     aid sleep and relieve anxiety; they are used in the management                     of epilepsy and as sedatives in psychiatry. They have contributed                     greatly to medical advance.<\/p>\n<p>But the use of short-acting barbiturates as &#8220;goofballs&#8221;                     is of serious concern. It is impossible to estimate with any                     degree of accuracy the number of chronic barbiturate users                     and barbiturate addicts in Canada, but it has been estimated                     that the number exceeds that of opiate addicts several times                     over.<\/p>\n<p>One authority declares that the barbiturate problem is more                     devastating than opiate addiction, causing more mental impairment                     and more motor incoordination. Yet barbiturates in many forms                     are easy to obtain by chronically anxious psychoneurotic people.                     They produce all degrees of depression of the central nervous                     system functions, and may lead to death. Poisoning may occur                     accidentally when an overdose is taken as a result of impaired                     judgment or impatience for sleep. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics                     figures on causes of death in the year 1965 show that barbiturates                     caused 262 deaths, more than 24 per cent of all deaths due                     to the effects of poison.<\/p>\n<h3>Effects on society<\/h3>\n<p>Drug abuse is not something which affects individuals only:                     it has an effect on society. Drug-taking is spread from the                     addict to the non-addict through curiosity, daring and the                     desire to be accepted.<\/p>\n<p>The social contamination due to the drug habit is one reason                     why the State tries to control consumption. Canada wishes                     to protect its people.<\/p>\n<p>William Kelly, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian                     Mounted Police, declares that illegal drug use is the top                     crime concern in Canada. He said in an interview in March                     that narcotics offences increased by 110 per cent in 1967,                     and added: &#8220;It seems that drug use among young people is now                     the &#8216;in&#8217; thing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Laws are made by Parliament and enforced by the R.C.M.P.                     and local police forces; there is rigorous Customs scrutiny                     to prevent the importation of drugs illegally, and Canada                     is one of many nations united to stamp out illegal international                     drug traffic.<\/p>\n<p>The law enforcement measures set forth society&#8217;s expectations                     and put limits on what is acceptable behaviour in the use                     of drugs.<\/p>\n<p>It is the function of the law to protect society, and many                     problems associated with drugs can be treated by legal, moral,                     and punitive methods. There is still left the matter of liberating                     the individual, and the standing committee on justice and                     legal affairs of the House of Commons recommended in March                     that treatment be substituted for punishment in the case of                     drug addicts. It recommended that drug addiction &#8220;be recognized                     primarily as an illness.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There are many varied treatments advocated by medical and                     mental experts. All cases of addiction are not alike, even                     when they involve the same drug. They may require different                     dietary, social, vocational, medical and recreational procedures                     in different combinations. This is certain: withdrawal and                     rehabilitation are not &#8220;do it yourself&#8221; projects. They require                     competent guidance, therapy and help.<\/p>\n<p>This is recognized by the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction                     Research Foundation set up by the Province of Ontario. Its                     study is directed toward learning about drugs likely to lead                     to addiction, about what sort of persons become addicted to                     various drugs, and about the processes of addiction itself.                     It reports to doctors and other professional people and to                     the public at large on its findings, in the hope that the                     prevalence of addiction will be reduced.<\/p>\n<h3>Need for education<\/h3>\n<p>Dr. Holmes said in a panel discussion where the medical                     profession was recognized as a leader in combating narcotics                     addiction: &#8220;Although we commonly speak of drug addiction as                     a disease, it is more properly a symptom of disease rooted                     in social and economic conditions which tend to create dissatisfaction,                     unhappiness, conflict, tension and strife in the minds and                     souls of human beings.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Taking unprescribed drugs is not the answer to the problem                     of living with things as they are. The number of persons who                     are enjoying satisfying lives without drugs is far in excess                     of those who become drug addicts.<\/p>\n<p>There is no doubt about the need for education on this point.                     Our troubling situation demands that education should start                     at the grade school level and should be continued through                     high school and into adult education. Parents need authoritative                     and understandable information which they can pass along to                     their children.<\/p>\n<p>The proposals of the Montreal Protestant School Board in                     an effort to discourage student drug use point this up sharply.                     &#8220;We believe that only factual information well presented,                     and not conjecture based on an emotional appeal, will have                     an influence on our young people today. The responsibility                     for communication of this information must be shared by educators,                     parents, students and the public at large.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Board proposes a five-pronged operation: films presented                     by competent persons, an information kit for school principals                     and guidance counsellors, student discussion groups, home                     and school programmes, and an information booklet for teachers.<\/p>\n<p>Most healthy young people see through the flimsy logic of                     the drug appeal when the facts are presented to them in an                     acceptable way. It is only by conveying to them the proper                     attitude toward drugs that prevention of drug-taking for inappropriate                     purposes can be attained.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[48],"class_list":["post-4140","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-48"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>September 1968 - VOL. 49, No. 9 - Misuse of Drugs.&quot; Some Facts - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/september-1968-vol-49-no-9-misuse-of-drugs-some-facts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"September 1968 - VOL. 49, No. 9 - Misuse of Drugs.&quot; Some Facts - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Society is greatly troubled by wide-spread reports of the use of drugs in harmful ways. 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This concern arises from the fact that we do not now have to go to the underworld to find people who abuse drugs, but come upon them in all social classes and in all economic divisions. 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