Philippines have narcotics under control

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Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Philippines have narcotics under control
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XIII (No. 10) October 1933
Year: 1933
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Fulltext: ctober, 1933 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 15 Philippines Have Narcotics Under Control The narcotics policy of the Philippines is one f prohibition of their habitual use. It conKms to the narcotics policy of the United States nd is in general contradiction of the narcotics ■olicies of most governments, which seek to egulate the habitual use of drugs without proibiting. When Acting Governor Eugene A. iilmore was at Malacanan and a League of Nations narcotics committee visited the islands collecting data, that committee received a shock vhen it found the islands’ narcotics policy eally working; not of course perfectly, not to he exclusion of all abuses, but with, on the vhole, such eminent success that little fault ould be found. On the contrary, what the committee learned vas calculated to disturb the complaisance of ;overnments addicted to regulatory policies; he more so because the Philippines might grow opium, if they cared to, while they lie adjacent o the great opium countries of the world and ire a convenient target for the illicit introduction of drugs to the use of their inhabitants. Now, wice a year, the league gets formal reports from :he Philippines on consumption of narcotics here; hese consistently add to the argument that vig'lant governments can, by prohibition, control vhe habitual use of narcotics enough to minimize he evils of it. So why any other policy in any government? The obvious answer must be, because many governments are commercially nterested in opium and the opium traffic, which therefore they regulate and tax. It has been attempted to show that the Philip pines are not successful in enforcing their nar cotics policy, of prohibition, but such attempts have failed: at Geneva the Philippines furnish no ground giving support to the regulatorytaxing policy, but tend to shame it in the eyes of .the world. Dope Drug Purchases First Half of 1931 and 1933 General Class 1931 Grams 1933 Grams Cocaine....................... 2,894.96 2,000.80 Codeine....................... 5,252.71 4,056.38 Heroine....................... 1,320.60 1,621.00 Laudunum................. 1,931.50 1,277.25 Opium and deriva tives........................ 11,596.46 15,868.50 Pantopon.................... 426.29 545.26 Morphine and deriva tives........... ............. 1,858.43 1,042.70 Stypticine................... 951.91 253.59 ’Totals................. 26,232.86 26,665.48 Totals of all narcotic drugs released by internal revenue bureau: all local purchases including those of government offices ?.......... ......... 32,376.55 32,037.29 As the total legitimate trade in all narcotics shows actual decrease in the first half of this year compared with the first half of 1931, while the population of the islands materially increased, it is unnecessary to look farther to see that so far as the field extends outside of smuggled narcotics that can’t be traced, use of narcotics in the Philippines is declining. There used to be in Manila a doctor who was an amoralist. Rather accounted a good fellow than a bad one, he seemed unable to distinguish between right and wrong and was always thought to administer morphine to people habituated to its use, especially to Chinese whom it served in lieu of opium. He was cunning in ways to evade the law and no air-tight case was ever made against him, but after the internal revenue collector's patience was exhausted the genial doctor’s clinic, as he styled it grandiloquently, was closed and he was threatening to have the law on the collector when he died. Such abuses do occur, despite the fact that all opiates dis pensed by wholesalers and importers are only sold on permits approved at the internal revenue bureau showing amounts and names of pur chasers as well as the specific character of the drug purveyed. But these records also reveal abuses and set the police or constabulary on hot trails of crime in the making. “Regarding narcotics,” writes Chief of Police Columbus E. Piatt of Manila, “there are four clinics in the city where morphine injections are administered to drug addicts. These clinics have been raided, arrests made, and several of the persons apprehended have been convicted. As to smuggling of narcotics, there have been rare cases since 1931.” While criminal administration of morphine does take place and is not altogether preventable, police vigilance keeps it at least within very restricted limits except perhaps among Chinese who now resort to morphine as cheaper and less noticeable to the authorities than use of opium. Morphine is more easily smuggled into a country YOU KNOW THIS OIL— Large Transportation Co’s use it Try Some Yourself Distributed by THE ASIATIC PETROLEUM CO. (P. I.) LTD. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 16 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL October, 1933 than opium is, undoubtedly considerable quan tities are smuggled into the Philippines to sa tisfy the demands of Chinese for opiates; trade both licit and illicit in morphine will be en couraged by countries such as India, Manchuria and Jehol where governments and private interests derive revenue from opium culture and the opium trade. Banned by the law of the islands, habitual use of opium and opiates fails to fasten itself upon the Philippine people—fails of becoming a widespread vice—and the Philip pines present a contrast with surrounding coun tries in this respect as striking as though they were on another part of the globe. While this situation is in part due to a virtue in the people themselves, who like nothing that does them physical harm, tobacco excepted, it is also directly attributable to the rigid laws that recognize no legitimate use of narcotic drugs outside the uses of medicine and science. In short, the islands' prohibitory policy does pro hibit. The more the League of Nations inves tigates and compares, the more it must admit this fact; and so, it would seem, the league must in time come around to the same opinion and abandon defense of regulatory-taxing narcotics policies that can’t in point of fact be successfully defended. Nations that tolerate such policies are en forcing an annihilating curse on the peoples compelled to submit to their laws. Such nations appear at councils for the mitigation or sup pression of the opium vice with soiled hands. Opium can be, as it is in these islands, a state monopoly in the sense that all legitimate traffic in it is state controlled; and it can easily be grown and manufactured only for medicine and science, so that no more than dribbles ever reach the illicit trade. The Philippines exem plify these facts. It is the ban of the law that helps make habitual use of narcotics ab horrent to the Philippine people, the public has been morally armed against it. Nearly Forty Years of Growth in the United States ^HE Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada was founded in 1867, and has transacted business in the Philippine Islands since 1897. JT has maintained an active organization in the United States for 36 years. Its progress in the United States has been remarkable, its American clients now numbering a very large proportion of its million policyholders. JT is licensed in 40 states of the U. S. A. and in the Territory of Hawaii and maintains fifty-five branch offices in the United States, giving a coast to coast service. Payments due under policies are made payable in United States currency either at the branch office through which the application was made or at the branch office at which the policy may be recorded at the time of settlement—whichever best suits the convenience of policyholder or beneficiary. gINCE starting business the Company has disbursed in death claims, matured endowments, dividends and other payments to policyholders and beneficiaries—$677,000,000.00. JTS assurances in force at the end of 1932 are almost Three Billions of Dollars ($2,912,469,882.00). rJ'*HE Sun Life keeps on deposit with United States trustees approved securities to the value of its net liability to American policyholders. In this way absolute protection to policyholders in the United States is assured. The amount so deposited with the State Treasurers and Trust Companies on December 31st, 1932, amounted to $203,840,567.00 against a net liability of $167,091,051.00. SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA Manila Office: Heacock Building Here’s how to get Manilas! Manila Genuine List of Distributn i s h e d upon re quest to— C. A. Bond Philippine Tobacco Agent: Street, New York City Long Filler Cigars in cellophane are obtain able in your city or nearby! 15 Williams Collector of Internal Revenue Manila, P. I. MA NILAS made under sanitary conditions will satisfy your taste! (Health Bulletin No. 28) Rules and Regulations for the Sanitary Control | of the Factories of Tobacco Products. “Section 15. Insanitary Acts.—No person engaged in the handling, | preparation, processing, manufacture, I or packing of tobacco product or | supervising such employment, shall perform, cause, permit, or suffer to be permitted any insanitary act during • such employment, nor shall any such ■ person couch or contaminate any tobacco products with filthy hands , or permit the same to be brought i into contact with the tongue or lips, i or use saliva, impure water, or other unwholesome substances as a moist ening agent; ....”. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL