Your Great-Grandma Was Hopped Up on Stuff
June 12th, 2009 by Russ
For those of us caught up in the day to day world of drug politics, it can be easy to forget just how new the concept of ‘illegal drugs’ really is. Pharmacy blog, Pill Talk, provided a big dose of historical perspective this week in releasing a collection of old posters and billboards hocking all manner of substances that no upstanding company would affiliate itself with in today’s whitewashed corporate culture.
Most stemming from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the ads feature some truly amazing concoctions.
Miss Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was designed to quiet restless babies especially at the time of teething. Little did babies and their mothers know that the syrup’s secret ingredient was morphine. Those babies were soothed alright. There’s even a terrific vintage testimonial in the New York Times archive lauding the syrup’s ability to quiet entire households of screaming rugrats.
Bayer, the long-time drug manufacturer, experimented with several substances before focusing on wonder drug, aspirin. One such substance was heroin, which, not surprisingly, turned out to be a terrific cough suppressant. As it happens, it also tended to suppress just about everything else, except for the desire to buy more Bayer Heroin, of course.
And finally, there’s the soft drink of lore, Coca Cola. As urban legend (and PillTalk) tells us, the name came from the fact that the drink used to be a simple mix of wine and cocaine. I fail to see how corn syrup and phosphoric acid could ever hope to compete with their far more stimulating predecessors.
Andean Cocaine: By Paul Gootenberg
May 27th, 2009 by Rick
Cocaine… it’s origins derive from South America, particularly in the foothills of the Andes in Peru. In the 19th century, the drug was used medicinally. In the 20th century, it was repressed. After World War II cocaine moved to the “illicit goods” list and was declared an illegal substance worldwide.
Paul Gootenberg, professor of history at Stony Brook University in New York and author or editor of four other books, chronicles the global influence of cocaine in his new book, Andean Cocaine.
Not only does Gootenberg include people and organizations (Sigmund Freud, Coca-Cola, and Pablo Escobar) within the book that historically have been connected to cocaine but he also researches the obscured history. From the Peruvian pharmacist who created techniques for refining cocaine on an industrial scale to the creators of the original drug networks, Gootenberg shows how it gave birth to the 1980’s American cocaine epidemic and the never ending U.S. drug war in the Andes.
Excerpt from the book:
Pharmacist Alfredo Bignon was burning the midnight oil in the backroom laboratory of his Drogueria y Botica Francesa, just around the corner from Lima’s main Plaza de Armas. Once more, he went over in his head his hard-won new formula for making cocaine. Tomorrow, the thirteenth of March 1885, he would present his findings at the Academia Libre de Medicina de Lima, where a distinguished panel of Peruvian doctors and chemists would judge his innovation in a ten-page official informe.
William O. Walker III, University of Toronto, author of Drug Trafficking in the Americas said:
There is simply no other work comparable to Andean Cocaine. The methodology, the evidence, and the interpretations come together in mutually reinforcing ways that make this arresting study an outstanding example of what scholars in history and anthropology should aspire to in their own work.
Andean Cocaine is comprised of 446 pages and 16 illustrations and is available in a cloth or paperback cover.
A Brief History of Weed
May 26th, 2009 by RussIf only more television promos were this instructional. This mini-eduction on the history of herb is brought to you by the Showtime series Weeds.
A beautifully animated piece, it takes the viewer through the last few millennia of human interaction with the cannabis plant. The soundtrack is a joint called ‘You Lit Up for Me’ by psychedelic/pop band Emeen Z.
For a more thorough run through of the history of weed prohibition (specifically in the United States), check out the Woody Harrelson narrated, full-length feature, Grass.
Cocaine Seizure at Sea Makes History
April 25th, 2007 by Tim
The day of and the days leading up to 4/20 typically create their own bounty of both pro and anti-marijuana press. This weekend was, however, a definite change of pace.
Cocaine news flooded the airwaves when the largest bust in maritime history was discovered.
Off the shores of Panama, the Coast Guard discovered about ~30,000 pounds of cocaine heading north on a 330-foot ship. When officers boarded the ship, they discovered the shipments hidden in two containers. This bust alone had a street value close to $450 million.
Earlier in the month, two other sea-based busts took place. One where a Coast Guard cutter chased down a speedboat with 2,000 pounds worth of yeyo. Another when 900 pounds of coke was found on an Ecuadorian fishing vessel. They were caught trying to offload the goods onto speedboats off the coast of Mexico.
Overall, a bad weekend for Tony Montana and crew.
See more pictures after the jump…
