tens of thousands to build the western railways, but when these monumental projects were finished, the Chinamen were a glut on the market.  Their principal sin—working too hard for too little money—could hardly be outlawed, so the authorities had to find something else.  One thing that set these people apart was their taste for opium. “Many arrests were made, and the punishment was prompt and thorough.”^[19]

Wright was happy to play the Chinese race card as well, warning that “one of the most unfortunate phases of the habit of smoking opium in this country is the large number of women who have become involved and are living as common-law wives or cohabiting with Chinese...”  The specter of unbridled Negroes and coolies waiting at the foot of the bed to carry off wives and daughters proved to be more than the Dixie Democrats could countenance, and they began to knuckle under to the doctor’s relentless fear-mongering.

Looking back on Wright’s dogged and uncompromising efforts with nearly a century of hindsight, one must marvel at his innocence.  Today, we know that a narcotics habit can be a lifetime ordeal, and even addicts who successfully kick may go through rehab a dozen times before they make it.  Yet Wright gave no consideration whatsoever to the problems of people who were already addicted.  He seems to have imagined that he could cure them by simply passing the law.  But it turns out his naivete can be easily explained: Wright and his colleagues were the victims of a spectacular medical hoax.

In 1909, the medical profession was informed that a miracle remedy for drug addiction had been discovered. It was almost infallible and it took about five days, tops. This amazing revelation meant that opium addiction was no more difficult to overcome than nail biting. All you needed to kick the habit was a little discipline and a long weekend. Not surprisingly, the man who planted this silly idea in the minds of the American medical establishment wasn’t a doctor himself, although he was often referred to as “Dr. Towns” in the press.  He was in fact an