Sherlock Holmes was addicted to cocaine and morphine.

Of course, Sherlock is a fictional character so I think we can forgive him. You also have to take into account that at the time (1887 – 1927), cocaine and morphine were perfectly legal to use for recreational purposes.

Even given these facts, it still sounds unbelievable that such a popular figure in modern literature could be held in such high regard given that he was very likely a full-on crack head but consider these excerpts.

In the first of Sir Conan Doyle’s Holmes mysteries, ‘A Study in Scarlet‘, Holmes’ ever-faithful sidekick Dr. Watson narrates..

‘. . . for days on end he would lie upon the sofa in the sitting-room, hardly uttering a word or moving a muscle from morning to night. On these occasions I have noticed such a dreamy, vacant expression in his eyes, that I might have suspected him of being addicted to the use of some narcotic, had not the temperance and cleanliness of his whole life forbidden such a notion.’

The later work, ‘The Sign of Four‘, starts with this disturbing opener..

‘Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantel-piece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. With his long, white, nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle, and rolled back his left shirt-cuff. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks. Finally he thrust the sharp point home, pressed down the tiny piston, and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction.’

and continues, a little later with the concrete truth..

‘ “It is cocaine,” he said, “a seven-per-cent solution.  Would you care to try it?” ‘

So there we have it. There’s should be no doubt left that Sherlock was probably coked off his face a lot of the time but a remarkable detective nevertheless.  I should point out however that solving mysteries with the aid of powerful narcotics is not advised,..even finding the TV remote can be tough!