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The
Online Reefer Madness Teaching Museum
Don't
Be a DOPE Reefer
Propaganda Pamphlet By Charles T.G. Rodgers
Throughout the country, public concern has been aroused by
the increased use of
drugs by teen-agers. Facts disclosed by recent
investigations clearly indicate that the
situation calls for intelligent,
purposeful action if this dangerous threat to the welfare
of our young people is
to be stamped out.
Don't
Be a DOPE
Charles T.G. Rogers
Chief Probation Officer
Probation Department
San Diego County
45 West B. Street - San Diego, Calif.
The first step toward this end is that every citizen know
the facts in back of the news; know which drugs are being used, what they are,
how they affect the user, and how teen-agers get the drugs. From this factual
information a plan can be developed to prevent more juveniles from being
enslaved and to help those now in the toils of narcotics.
The purpose of this booklet is to provide such information.
The drugs most commonly in use, according to
investigations, are marijuana, heroin and a variety of hypnotics known
collectively as "sleeping pills." Marijuana
is secured from a plant of the hemp family. This same drug, under the name of
hashish or bhang, has long been used in Asiatic countries. The most usual method
of use in America is smoking it in the form of cigarettes commonly called "reefers"
or "joints." Heroin is an
opium derivative, a very powerful drug similar
to morphine. It may be sniffed as a powder or injected by
hypodermic needle. "Sleeping pills" include a number of barbiturate
preparations in tablet and capsule form. The most common are nembutol, seconal and phenabarbital. Among
users they are referred to as "yellow jack" and "goof
balls."
The great danger to teen-agers lies in the fact that they
love fads and new experiences. A
few youngsters start using marijuana and others follow suit because
"everyone is doing it." It offers a new thrill. Kids do it for
"kicks." They are told
"it is not habit forming." Such
fads as wearing shirt tails out or socks that glow in the dark are harmless
butthe use of drugs of any kind can lead only to unhappiness, to crime and
perhaps to death.
MARIJUANA AND MURDER
Marijuana and murder have
more in common than the fact that both begin with M. The Arabic name for this drug is "hashish," and for
its users, "hashashin," from which we get our word assassin. The
phrase "run amuck" comes from the Malay
word amok meaning kill, and was first used to describe the action of natives
crazed by the drug ..On a petting party at which we
believe marijuana was used, a teen-age boy stabbed his girl friend more than
twenty times about the head and chest with his pocket knife. She
will carry the scars for life.
The drug is secured from the cannabis sativa plant, a type
of hemp that grows readily anywhere. The leaf is composed of an odd number of
long, narrow lobes or leaflets with saw tooth edges. There may be from five to eleven of these. The
plant reaches a height of from three to sixteen feet. The leaves and
yellow-green flowering tops contain the dangerous drug. These
are dried and made into cigarettes commonly called "reefers,"
"joints," or "sticks." Marijuana
may also produce its violent effect when soaked in alcoholic or non-alcoholic
drinks. Because of this it is
sometimes called "tea." Other
slang names are weed, hay, pod and yesca.
Because it is cheap to produce and easy to secure, the
price is not prohibitive as with other drugs. A marijuana cigarette may be
bought for as little as fifty cents. It is also sold loose, usually in smoking
tobacco cans. The low cost makes it attractive to teen-agers seeking a new
thrill.
The problem of identifying the marijuana user is difficult.
When not under the influence of the drug, he is quite normal. When using the
drug, the pupils of the eyes are very large, fixed and staring. The
whites of the eyes may be bloodshot. The breath has a
distinctive odor very much like burnt rope. The
user does not lose his sense of balance and stagger as would a drunken person.
Marijuana is an excitant drug, but its effects upon individuals are most
unpredictable. The person under its influence may be very animated and
hilarious, talk very rapidly and in a loud tone. He may be hysterical, laughing or weeping without reason, or
he may be depressed or stuporous. His
sense of time and space is frequently distorted; he may imagine himself very
small or very large and powerful. Hours may seem like minutes or days. He
may drive his automobile at seventy miles an hour and believe he is going only
thirty; a car almost upon him may appear a mile away. Because
of this, fatal traffic accidents can and do occur. Frequently
the user has delusions, seeing and hearing things which do not exist. Moreover,
even small quantities of the drug can destroy will power and the ability to
connect and control thoughts and actions, thus releasing all inhibitions,
perhaps viciously.
It is because the effect is
completely unpredictable that the use of marijuana is so dangerous. The
following phrases taken from reports in the files of the U. S. Bureau of
Narcotics tell the story---"Murdered his friend," "rape of a nine
year old girl," "unprovoked killing of a hotel clerk,"
"murdered his mother, father, sister and two brothers with an ax."
MARIJUANA MYTHS
There are several common misconceptions regarding
marijuana. Some are entirely false;
others have some basis in fact but are misinterpreted or distorted .
A very prevalent belief is that the use of marijuana will
increase or sharpen the user's mental processes or ability to perform. A
teen-age boy known to the Probation Department stated he smoked marijuana
between classes because this improved his ability to recite in class. His
grades did not support this statement.
Unfortunately, there is a popular belief that many
musicians with dance orchestras use this means of improving their playing. The
fact that some musicians have been known to use marijuana has lent support to
this myth. The great majority of successful performers do not use marijuana and
will not employ those who do. The
belief grows out of the fact that when under the influence of the drug,
individual inhibitions are released, their sense of proportion is distorted, and
they think they are better, although actually they may not be doing as well as
normally. The U. S. Public Health Service reported that tests made in a
Federal institution proved that the use of the drug did not improve, but
impaired, the musical ability of the subjects.
Another common belief is that because, medically, marijuana
is classed as non habit-forming, it is therefore neither dangerous nor harmful.
It is true that the marijuana user does not experience "withdrawal
symptoms," the agonizing physical pain and nervous upset suffered by
addicts of morphine or heroin when their supply of drugs is suddenly stopped.
But that is all that is meant by the 'medical classification.
The use of marijuana is often begun as an experiment or to
experience a new thrill or get a "kick." If the experience is
pleasurable, the desire for repeating such stimulation is established. It is
similar to the desire of other persons to drink alcohol because they enjoy the
effect. The repeated use of
marijuana can lead to chronic or habitual use. Since
the reaction is unpredictable, danger to the user and to others can only result.
A psychiatrist states that habitual use may result in more lasting psychotic
disease, characterized by confusion, hallucinatory and delusional trends, with
abundant sexual content and impulsive behavior.
Another grave danger is that the marijuana user in search
of bigger "kicks" and greater thrills may be led to try heroin, an
insidious drug which can create addiction after only a short period of use.
THE HONEYMOON IS OVER
Seeking a new thrill or a bigger "kick" than
marijuana provides, the unsuspecting victim is offered heroin by a friend
already addicted, or by a peddler seeking a new customer. He gets the thrill all
right. He feels happy, troubles
disappear, everything is fine-but not for long! This early experience is called the "honeymoon of the
addict." But like some
honeymoons, it is short lived; then comes the real effect of the drug.
There is no longer any pleasure to be derived from a normal dose, and if
use of the drug is stopped, acute physical discomfort and pain are felt.
The victim is "hooked." He must now have the drug in order to
prevent the pain-to be able to function normally.
The cost of heroin is high and the addict will do anything
to get funds to keep himself supplied. To
get a kick he must get "loaded," which requires more and more of the
drug. When he reaches this stage he
has become, in drug users slang, a "hog," and he is deep in the toils
of addiction. At this point there
is little hope for a permanent cure. According
to medical statistics, less than 20% can be permanently cured.
Heroin is an opium derivative similar to morphine. It is a
white powder and is sold in capsules or small packages called "decks."
Most beginning users snuff the
powder up the nose, but soon graduate to dissolving the drug in water and
injecting it into arms or legs with a hypodermic syringe to get a greater
effect. Addiction can occur after
using the 'drug for as short a time as ten days.
In the early stages of addiction, there is a feeling of
being "high," of lightness and freedom from worry or care; later this
can only be secured by very large doses.
When under the influence of the drug, the pupils of the
eyes are contracted to pinpoint size, the face may be pale, and temperature
slightly below normal. Some time after the effect of the drug has worn off, the
user feels restless, nervous, irritable and depressed. If he is without the drug
for eight hours or more he may feel cramps or heaviness in the stomach, have
chills, and develop a skin condition that looks like a plucked fowl and is
nicknamed "cold turkey." This is because the body now needs the drug
to function normally. Relief from these symptoms can be secured only by another
dose of the drug. The only way to cure the addict is to place him in a
specialized hospital where he is treated to relieve his pain, and the drug
gradually withdrawn. Even after
release he may return to the use of the drug.
In addition to the appearance when under the influence of
heroin, the addict may be recognized by scars developed from constant use of the
hypodermic needle. These may be on the arms, legs, or body. Sometimes they turn
bluish or ulcerate. These who sniff the drug may develop irritation or ulcers on
the membrane lining of the nose. People with well balanced personalities and security do not
become addicts. It is those who are unstable, insecure and neurotic, and use the
drug to feel as good or better than the other fellow, who most frequently fall
victims to the habit.
When the addict is "high" or "loaded"
he may do reckless things which endanger life and property. When he is suffering
for lack of the drug, he may commit any kind of crime to secure funds to buy
more heroin. These factors make him dangerous to society.
THE TRUTH ABOUT
SLEEPING PILLS
Ever hear of "goof balls" or
"yellow-jack"? Perhaps
not, but you have heard and read of sleeping pills. Suicides, near suicides, or
accidental deaths by an overdose of sleeping pills are frequently reported.
Called by any name, when not used under the direction of a physician they
are dangerous and may be habit forming.
The majority of preparations called sleeping pills are
hypnotic drugs of the barbiturate group, prescribed medically as a sedative or
to induce sleep. Nonmedically, they
are frequently used by people who are frightened, insecure, or unhappy. They
feel calm, relieved, less unhappy; Or,
they may take larger doses and retreat from their problems in drugged sleep.
Continued use makes' the individual dull, sluggish and at times nervous and
irritable. They perform required
duties poorly and in a lackadaisical manner, and eventually may become unable to
work at all. Until fairly recent
times these drugs could be purchased at drug stores anywhere without
prescription. Legal sale is now
controlled in many states but there are still areas where they can be bought
easily. As with other drugs, there
are always illegal sources of supply.
The use of these drugs by teen-agers in the manner
described is not and will probably never be a major problem. But these same
drugs, taken in combination with alcohol, have a very different effect and it is
here that there is danger to juveniles. All
too frequently "goof balls" in tablet or capsule form are taken by
youngsters along with wine or whiskey as a means of getting "a big
bang." Used this way, intoxication is quickly secured. Feelings of
unreality and floating on air, of being "out of this world" are
produced. The user, in a sense, retreats from reality and its responsibilities. While
under the influence of the drug, an individual may do things which will cause
injury to himself or those around him. Driving
a motor vehicle while in this condition· is, of course, extremely dangerous.
After the "jag" comes the hangover. It is then
that the same drug is frequently taken to bring comfort and relief from the
after effects. Thus begins the
vicious cycle of use; with alcohol for a "bang," without alcohol for
relief of hangover, and eventually perhaps habitually. Again it should be emphasized that normal well-balanced
persons, young or old, rarely become habitual users of drugs. The use of drugs is usually a symptom of some other social or
psychological problem. How this
knowledge can be used to prevent drug addiction will be discussed next.
MEET THE ADDICT
Who is the drug addict; does he come only from certain
social or economic groups; is he a particular type of person? The answer is that
he may come from any level of society but he is a particular type of individual,
although there are seldom easily recognized outward sighs to show this.
Drug addiction is a symptom pointing to deeper problems in
the emotional, psychological, or social make-up of the individual.
Authorities in medicine and psychiatry are in agreement that the great
majority of drug addicts are persons who are emotionally insecure or unstable,
who have feelings of inadequacy, are immature, or psychoneurotic. They
were that way before they took up the use of drugs and it was because of these
personality defects that they sought escape through the use of drugs. This
has been further proven by studies of addicts made by the U. S. Public Health
Service.
This is a most encouraging fact for parents to know. If a
youngster is emotionally stable; if he does not feel inadequate, insecure or
rejected; if his home life is happy; if he is getting along well in school and
in the community-then there is little likelihood of his becoming addicted to
drugs.
Experimentation with drugs because of urging by friends or
the agents of dope peddlers may be the cause of a few normal youngsters becoming
involved. But this can be prevented
by providing education and information about the true nature of drugs and the
serious effects of their use. Such
instruction should not be designed to "scare," but to give the facts
honestly and unemotionally. Our
young people, as a group, are highly intelligent, and the well adjusted among
them will not knowingly embark on an activity such as the use of drugs if they
know the dangers it presents. For
the small group of unfortunate young people already addicted to drugs, there is
little that can be offered except medical treatment. For the far larger group of youngsters not involved there is
much
that parents and the community can do along preventive
lines.
Parents should develop home surroundings that are happy and
secure emotionally, as well as comfortable physically. Relationships
between all members of the family should be the kind that make the young people
feel secure, that they are wanted, loved, and are an integral part of the family
group. If parents see in the child indications 9f tension or insecurity, they
should find the cause and remedy it. If the symptoms continue, the parents
should get competent professional help in solving the problem.
Communities, too, can help by providing adequate
educational facilities and opportunities for wholesome recreation for all
children. Public and private
agencies offering professional assistance in child guidance, family counselling,
and mental hygiene should be established. Slum
areas and other factors which tend to develop feelings of insecurity,
inferiority, and discrimination in the growing generation should be removed.
In short, build healthy, happy, emotionally stable
youngsters and you will not produce drug addicts.
MEET THE PEDDLER
No group of persons is more despicable than those who make
their living by preying upon human frailties, and of this group the lowest is
the dealer in drugs. Professional purveyors of tragedy, suffering and death,
they deserve no sympathy and should be given no quarter.
There is probably no mote lucrative field in the "big
business" of crime than drugs. Big time criminal organizations or
syndicates are the major sources of supply to the underworld. Opium, morphine,
cocaine, heroin and marijuana are imported or produced in large quantities for
distribution through various outlets at vast profit. The middleman in the
illegal drug trade is usually a racketeer or mobster whose criminal organization
covers a specific territory. It is from this source that the peddler gets his
supply. To make the profits even
greater, it is common practice to dilute or adulterate the drugs at each level
of distribution. As a result, by
the time it reaches the addict a capsule of heroin, for example, may contain
only three to five percent pure drug, the rest being adulterant.
Drugs reach the user through "pushers" who work
for the peddler, usually on commission. Pushers may be petty criminals-hangers-on of the underworld
out for an "easy buck." Frequently the pusher is an addict who uses this means of
getting additional money with which to purchase drugs for his own use.
A common practice of peddlers is to provide
"samples" which the pushers give away in an effort to create new
addicts who will become steady customers. It is through this method that many
teen-agers receive their first initiation into the use of drugs.
Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies carryon
an unceasing campaign to apprehend and punish drug dealers and to stamp out the
traffic. Many of the agencies are
handicapped by a lack of staff and funds. Each citizen should assist in every
way possible in the fight against illegal drug sales. A citizen who has any
information about dope peddlers which may be helpful to the authorities should
report it to his local law enforcement agency. It is equally important to report
drug users, for their own welfare and to prevent their introducing others to the
use of drugs. You would report a theft if you learned of it---the dope seller is
far more dangerous. Don't help him
by keeping quiet. Help society by
reporting him.
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