THE DOPE ON DOPE

In answer to your query, (Letters, Dec. 30), "If pot is for smart people,
why do they call it dope?" the word "dope" was derived from the Dutch word
"doop," meaning "sauce." In the southern states, dope means "a
cola-flavoured soft drink." Etymologists believe this modern usage has its
roots in the sweet syrup base of a cola drink.

As a slang synonym for drugs, folk wisdom has it that dope recalls the
inclusion of cocaine in the original recipe for Coca-Cola, named after the
coca plant from which cocaine is refined. The syrupy texture of melting
opium may have contributed to this usage. The "stupid" sense of "dope" is
unrelated and believed to have its origins in an English dialect word
meaning "prostitute."

Matthew M. Elrod

(You're obviously no dope -- in the stupid sense.)