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THE MARIJUANA MENACEOver in neighboring Mercer County, according to the Princeton Observer, the character-destroying, soul and body wrecking habit of smoking marijuana “reefers” is on the increase among high school students of that section.We have no information or rumor that the schools of Raleigh County have that problem, but if so, as incipient as it may be, now is the time to put a decisive and effective stop to the practice.The habit is started most often among children of high school age in search of a thrill. They are not aware of the danger, but think it is smart and a badge of sophistication. The smoking of the first reefer may not be in itself harmful, but it is followed by another and another until the habit hSs a firm hold.From marijuana it is a short step to the taking of other and more dangerous narcotics, opium, morphine and the dread heroin. One of the most pitiful and heart-rending sights on earth is the suffering of a heroin addict when denied the satisfaction of his ever-growing and insatiable craving. The very soul of a user of heroin is, to the victim, a cheap price to pay for his daily ration.The smoking of the first marijuana cigaret is the first step toward the taking of heroin, and the first toward a mental, inoral and physical hell.There is ho lower form of human being than the peddler of habit-forming drugs to young and impressionable children. The bootlegger of rotgut liquor, the pimp and the panderer are saints by comparison.
Newspaper Details
Beckley News Digest
Beckley, West Virginia, US
Mon, Jan 19, 1953
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Katrina N.
AL, USA 26 Jan 2024
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