The Agony of the Morphine Fiend
A defendant on trial for theft suffers from withdrawal in a Seattle courtroom.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The case of F. M. Burlison, who is charged with stealing Mrs. I. Lieberman’s watch from the Northern Hotel, was continued by Justice Caldwell. Burlison was in court shivering from the want of morphine to quiet his nerves. He has been addicted to the habit for three years and uses forty grains a day, telling his detective that without the drug he suffers the torments of hell. He had previously claimed to be a nephew of the famous politician Carter Harrison, but requested that this be kept private.
“He was shivering from the want of morphine to quiet his nerves.”
This account provides a rare, albeit dehumanizing, glimpse into the life of someone suffering from opioid dependency in 1890s Seattle. It highlights the era's lack of medical understanding regarding addiction, framing it through the lens of a criminal 'fiend' rather than a public health crisis.
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