National Christian Council Research Articles

The Opium Conferences

IN THE United States there are at least 110,000 drug addicts, slaves to dope manufactured out of the product of poppy and coca leaves. Once in the grip of the drug habit, an addict not only becomes worthless to society; he becomes a positive danger, willing to commit any crime to obtain the drugs necessary to satisfy his craving. In the Orient the opium problem has been of a different nature.1 In China, and among the Chinese laborers of Siam, British Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, and other Far Eastern colonies, chandu, or prepared opium is smoked. Despite the fact that official British commissions in the past reported that smoking in moderation is not attended with bad results, the Hague Convention of 1912 by implication condemned this prac tice by providing for the gradual suppression of smoking. It is significant, perhaps, that a majority of the Chinese smokers in the Far Eastern colonies acquire the habit after taking up their residence there.2 Still another use of opium is found in India where the raw product is eaten?a practice which is widespread, raw opium being consumed as a prophylactic against malaria and as a sedative. The question whether this use is harmful has been hotly debated. The Indian Government still answers this question in the negative on the basis of the findings of an Official Commission, appointed in 1893, to the effect that the common use of opium in India is a moderate use leading to no evident ill-effects. When it was originally made this report's impartiality was challenged by a minority minute. Further misgivings as to its present value were aroused by an inquiry conducted last year by the National Christian Council of India and by the resolutions of different Indian organizations, all of whom have expressed the desire that the Indian Government should bring about the restriction of opium to purely medical requirements. Moreover, such a distinguished tropical physician as Sir David J. Galloway has declared that eating opium is more harmful than smoking.

THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF CHINA

International Review of MissionVolume 13, Issue 1 p. 90-100 THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL OF CHINA THE SECRETARIES, THE SECRETARIESSearch for more papers by this author THE SECRETARIES, THE SECRETARIESSearch for more papers by this author First published: January 1924 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6631.1924.tb03873.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume13, Issue1January 1924Pages 90-100 RelatedInformation