8
657
No women nor persons under 18 years of age
may be admitted to the duns. Originally the number of dens wag fairly large; now-a-days a permit is only given when there is abso- lute need for a den in a place, (for instance with a view to the
The few dens for women, large number of persons passing through). to which mon had no admission, which formerly existed, have now been abolished.
The number of dens diminished from 163 at
the end of 1914 to 72 at the end of 1921,
The very considerable diminution in nearly every district since the introduction of the rugie Is Indicated in "ppendix 1.
From that it also appears that the number of opium-retailshops in nearly every district is also greatly reduood. This reduction is carried as far as possible without encouraging smuggling, and the re-sale of opium too much.
The hourg during which the opium-retailshops
are also being gradually ruduced, are open for the sale of opium Where that is at all possible, those shops are closed on Sundays and holidays. In districts where there exists a system of licencus (suo below), it is becoming more and more a practice no longer to soll optan,
overy day in the smaller places, but only once or twice
0. Rugistration.
a wook.
In districts also where the introduction of a licence-system had not yet been thought of, the buyers wore rogistured at och retailshop as far as that was possible with the availablo staff.
The registration was gradually extended. Theroby data were obtained which were of use in the investigation into the possibility of introducing restrictions in certain districts.
IX.
As was already stated in § III, the ready proviously existing regulations, whereby it was forbidden to every ono in cortain districts to possuss opium, weru eð fer as possiblo kopt in forco when the opium-rugie was introduced,
(1) Cons.quently it is cossible to do with a smaller staff, as a
which was formerly ruquired for onu place, can now serve two or more placus.
stoff