Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 15, Number 149, 14 August 1882 — IS THE "OPIUM EVIL" INCREASING? [ARTICLE]

IS THE "OPIUM EVIL" INCREASING?

VTa donbfc ve?y much if there is dtie realization by tbr> pMfta of the extent if opium-eating and opium- 1 miking in our midst. It is a :ar mi. re extensively practiced " cvii " than is generally supposed. We have been convinced that the general public is ill informed 01 this matter, and da not hesitate to admit that the press of the .State ha* not presented the facts in the strongest light — and they need ao more forcible presentation than perfectly (leu and unvarnished statements. Neither press nor oitizsng, however, have intentionally evaded the matter. There has been no attempt in aDy quarter, we believe, to suppress the facts, bnt rather a failure to realize the necessity for action. The truth if, that the people have considered, to a great extent, the agitation of the past on this subject, feeble as it has been, aa but one of the collaterals of the Chinese question, a charge made to give point and force to anti Gnineae arguments, rather than allegations, which, if true, involved very seriouily the welfare of society in another Jirict-on.

There would seem now to be no docbt that there is an involvement of society in this matter of the " opium habit," aa it is technically called, which can no longer be ignored. It has too long been treated in a feeble forcible way by the law and public sentiment. Some recent inquiries on this subject ha-. 0 convinced ns that there is at least need for a very thorough investigation by competent authority, and the possible enactment of such laws aa are within the proper scope of the legislative branch of the government as will tend to check the evil and finally wholly eradicate it — if that be possible.

While there is no necessity at this time for entering upon a consideration of the issue whether or not tho desired end can be attained by legislation under our form and system of government— leaving it an open question ac to the best policy to he punned by sociaty in stamping out this " evil " of appetite— yet, as the authorities in this State have undertaken to check the vies complained of, there is or should be no question concerning the rigorous enforcement of such laws as we already have. It has been generally supposed that the class addicted to the practice of opiumsmoking was slmost wholly of that character that is " good riddance " to society when the victims die in their misery. In the paßt this has been true, in the main, but now the relentless evil is manifesting a disposition to grasp others — men, wemen and youths — who cannot well be spared to society, and whoee practice of the vice is putting additional burdens upon it. There are a few in the community thoroughly well-informed as to the fact*, and these do not hesitate, when once induced to speak on the subject, to declare that we are storing up food for future misery and regret. The enforcement of local statutes hat, to a great extent, broken up the regular housea where the drug was furnithed and the means tupplied for enjoying it, but such regulations have cot tutiioed to check the practice of opium smoking itself. They have simply driven the vice to more tecret methods in its progress, and led to the introduction of the opium "lay-out" into the private room. It is oot necessary now to enter upon a citation of the evidences that justify these expressions— for the present it is sufficient to throw out the suggestion that the opium "evil" has passed beyond the realm of the Chinese question, and demands consideration from a far more important standpoint. Fortunately, as yet, the vioe is mainly courined to the disreputable classes, and although it has recently given evidence, as already remarked, of attaching with its merciless grasp to those in whose welfare society has more concernment, the terrible habit has not as yet, we think, made such inroafs in that, direction as to awaken to alarm the general public, and it is for that veiy reason that in the present we should find the best time for action, on the principle that "a stitch in time saves vine," It is veil for ns to remember that "sfaSjgKSQ&ea the sooner ■ W'Mn it Is despised," as Laberim pots it, and as another ancient philosopher says, " He is safe from danger trho is on bis guard even when safe." It it probable that the State and local Boards of Health have the means at command to thoroughly enlighten the public as to all the facts relative to the growth and dangers of the "evil.* From such sources statements on the subject would come with great force, and suggestions with the additional weight tibat competent authority gives. If these 'aodies can assure the public that the " evil " is not making rapid progress, that it does not threaten to become a serious question in the economy of our systems of municipal government, that it has not taken on new forms, or at least grown in directions not heretofore regarded as probable, it will be a great relief, and a gratifying assurance ; bnt from the facts as understood by very many, no such showing is at all likely to result from official investigation, and that we will find it an imperative duty to apply to the opium demon the advice Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Brutus when speaking of C'resar :

" Think him as a serpent's SjBC Which hatch'd, would, as his kinc', grow mischievoas ; Aud kill him in the shell."