"Morphine or Cocaine? "-Sherlock Holmes and the Social Perception of Drugs

Abstract

The drug conundrum of Sherlock Holmes's secretive habit begins with John Watson's startling question: ”Which is it today? Morphine or cocaine?” Among the sixty published adventures of Sherlock Holmes, there are only five passages directly or indirectly alluding to his drug habit. Either in detailed description or in subdued understatements, Holmes's application of drugs have attracted more controversy than their few short lines would appear to merit. This paper attempts to medicalize and contextualize Holmes's contested drug habit and his choice of drugs. Beginning with a textual study of descriptions or inferences of his drug habit, attempts are made to rectify the conception of substances by de-mythicizing, in Susan Sontag's words, its fascination. By differentiating the significance of cocaine, morphine, and opium, this paper reconstructs the masculinity of Sherlock Holmes in an attempt to historicize and de-mythicize the significance of narcotics in the context of medical history. By analyzing the historical background of drug use, this paper attests that Holmes's drug habit does not detract from his image as a hero, but enlarges his image as a man of advanced medical knowledge, self-discipline, and self-control.