521
No. 30
98
HONGKONG.
REPORTS ON MORPHINE INJECTION.
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His
Excellency the Governor, on the 12th September, 1893,
Colonial Surgeon to Colonial Secretary.
GOVERNMENT CIVIL HOSPITAL,
HONGKONG, 14th July, 1893.
Enclosure No. 1.
Enclosure No. 2,
SIR,
In accordance with instructions contained in your minute of the 26th ultimo, I requested Dr. ATKINSON to give me a report of a case of Morphia injection by Chinese that came under his notice in the Government Civil Hospital and also requested Mr. CROW, Government Analyst, to ascertain, if possible, the preparation of Morphia used and the strength of the solutions from the samples forwarded, and also to procure samples direct for himself, if possible, and get all the information he could generally as to the practice of Morphia injection among the Chinese. These reports I now forward. Mr. CROW's report is a very complete one and leaves no doubt upon the subject.
The dose used as it appears quite commonly of gr. of Morphia in solution is a very full one and very rarely used by a medical practitioner; to allay even very acute pain ato of a grain are the doses most commonly used. It will be seen by this that the dose used among the Chinese is a very full one. This supposed cure for Opium smoking is the introduction of an undoubtedly pernicious habit for one that, as I have proved, is a very doubtful one and easily cured with no evil effects to the patient by complete deprivation at once. To deprive these men of the habit at once of using Morphia injections will cause much suffering, not only nervous exhaustion for want of the stimulant, but in the majority of cases it will result in an attack of profuse diarrhoea very difficult to control and will result in a sort of Cholera scare.
Morphia injection is used ostensibly for the cure of Opium smoking, but from the evidence given there is no attempt whatever to decrease the strength of the injections; but on the contrary the number of doses taken appears to increase and the evidence points to the introduction of a habit well known to be an undoubtedly pernicious habit for one that is to say the most of it a very doubtfully pernicious
one.
The profit side of the question is the only one likely to be looked upon by those who conduct the cure. It is shown to be from 200 to 400 per cent., and as long as they make such a profit there is little chance of their patients being cured.
I am of opinion that it is of little use striking at the sale of the drug or the instruments used as there are European Agencies for these in all the principal Chinese towns. The only way will be to strike at the shops in which it is practised, the same as gambling houses, and the punishments should be severe and refer only to the keepers.
At the same time provisions will have to be made to meet the evils which will arise from this stoppage amongst those that have contracted the habit which might be done by a notification by the Registrar General that medicines can be obtained from the European hospitals and dispensaries and also from Police Stations the same as has been done in regard to Cholera Cases.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
The Honourable
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY.
PH. B. C. AYRES, Colonial Surgeon.
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