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Originally Posted by anamardoll
Just listened to the audio collection, and Watson scolds him for opiate-use in one of the stories right after SiS. Holmes basically says that he has ADD and the opium helps. Not in those words, of course. I'll try to dig up a reference.
EDIT: Found it, "The Sign of Four" -- Holmes is using cocaine in the scene, but Watson notes that he's been also using morphine (an opiate) frequently. Watson's statement could be read as saying that the cocaine and morphine injections are a once-a-day habit -- I have no idea where that falls on the "casual/not-casual" drug scale.
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I believe that Arthur Conan Doyle was drawing on his knowledge as a Dr. when he had Holmes taking morphine. It was used as a treatment against addiction back then and so having Holmes take morphine would make sense as it would help prevent him becoming addicted to cocaine. As I remember the line Dr. Watson asks him if he's taking Morphine or Cocaine today and Holmes says Cocaine, the 7% solution. So it sounds like he was trying to not get addicted to it by having it be diluted and alternating between Cocaine and Morphine.