NOXIOUS DRUGS.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1932, Page 6

NOXIOUS DRUGS.

The sharp punishment inflicted by an Auckland magistrate, Mr. F- K * „ • ’ for the unlawful sale of the drug col will be generally approved. One 0 post-war problems has been tio nious increase in the use of dru o are habit-forming and lead to tion—moral and physical. As Mn Hrh t pointed out, the evil is d ’ t :„ s repression has been one of undertaken by the League o , and upon this question thel . e unanimity among the members of the league. In New Zealand the law ag a ™ s * the sale of noxious drugs has been draw tighter than the suggestions of the League of Nations. The legislation is supported by the medical profession, by members oZ the and by the general public.N« v erth e less it is known that some people still en f gage in what Mr. Hunt cal » the most desperate callings upon earth, his own weakness is made the more difficult. Because of the risk it entails, and because the craving victim grows as it is fed, the ti attic m cocaine is highly lucrative so long as /Infection is avoided. Nor is it easy t,p sheet home the mischief that is d° n ® g the improper use of drugs which m their proper place and used under skilled direction can be of the utmost benefit to mankind. Illicit dealers know that their victims are not likely to give away information that will cut oft I ]® 8 ’ and they know, too, that with the craving there is developed a cunning which “makes detection of the supplies still more difficult. It is right, therefore, that when a conviction is secured the punishment should be exemplary. Traffic in noxious drugs is an offence against the individual and against the community. Jt is satisfactory to note the alertness of the authorities in regard to this, and that those engaged in the traffic will receive the punishment they deserve.