Narcotics Strike at Youth: A Survey of How New York City Is Meeting This Problem
Abstract
Background of the Study. The use of narcotics as an escape from unpleasant reality dates back more than 5,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia, as reported in the writings of the Sumerians. The reference to laudanum, for example, a preparation of opium, begins with the early classics of literature. Homer makes mention of ”the intoxicating poppy, the poppy saturated with lethal slumber”. Paracelsus, the great healer of that era, wrote: ”I have an arcanum which is called laudanum, and which is superior to everything when death is to be cheated”. This presentation of opium enabled Paracelsus to perform miraculous service to his patients. Through the ages, this treatment of the afflicted was rewarded similarly with brief periods of wellbeing, only to cause their dependence on the drug, and ultimate addiction.
Subject Area
Health care management|Social work
Recommended Citation
Menechino, Lewis E, "Narcotics Strike at Youth: A Survey of How New York City Is Meeting This Problem" (1952). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30557657.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30557657
