|
As far back as 1925, the U.S. Government
recognized the conflict between imported coca, opium,
and hemp and the legal, taxable production of such drugs.
The War On Drugs was officially declared in the late 60s but
drug use in America has a long history of acceptance.
Today we think of Bayer aspirin but
Bayer's Heroin
 was
once a household word. Through in the late 1800s, it was sold as a
"non-addictive" substitute for morphine. It was however,
more than twice as potent as morphine.
"Bayer marketed the drug as a cure for
morphine addiction before it was discovered that it rapidly
metabolizes into morphine." (Wikipedia)
Doctors dispensed it to treat children
with strong cough.
The money and lives wasted by such
drugs as Laudanum is incalculable but in modern
times, we've advanced to valium, Prozac, and Ritalin. Laudanum
(tincture of opium) was a mixture of alcohol, herbs, and
powdered opium alkaloids which made it an extremely powerful narcotic due to the high morphine content. A potent
pain reliever for suffering soldiers, it became the
Victorian era drug of choice, favored by poets and writers
such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Charles Dickens.
Coca wines were very popular and quite
acceptable. Click on these small images to enlarge.
This one features the Pope!
One called Mariani was the most
famous because Pope Leo XIII carried a bottle on his person.
In fact, he was so enamored (addicted) that he awarded the producer with a Vatican gold medal.
Metcalf's Coca Wine was produced in New
York. It was more straight-forward, said to "make you
happy" but would also work as
a medicinal treatment.
The company suggested adults consume a
full glass with or after every meal but children
should take only half a glass.
But what it there was something
"refreshing" that anyone could drink anytime?
When prohibition
 passed
in Fulton County GA in 1886, a local pharmacist concocted a beverage he called
Coca-Cola
and introduced as a patent medicine.
The amount of
cocaine Coke contained is buried in company archives but soda fountains were
actually called "hop joints" and Coke delivery drugs
were called "dope trucks" until cocaine was
removed in 1904. Coke syrup was still
available to "sooth the stomach" through the 60s. |
Addictive drugs were so commonplace in
Europe and the New America, one
wonders how civilization prospered? We should be
proud that the United States was founded and fought for by "backwards" woodsmen and cowboys who had
no time, cash, or inclination for drugs.
 But
children were a susceptible market and mothers of fretful
kids also found solace in drugs such as Paregoric, a potent mixture of Opium and alcohol.
Paragoric was still recommended and
freely available in the 60s!
Cocaine tablets became very popular in the 1900s. All stage
actors, singers teachers and preachers had to have them for
a maximum performance. Great to "smooth" the voice.
Our resident biochemist Fred Lanting says
"When I was a boy soprano with voice changing to tenor/baritone, choir
members introduced me to their "habitual" Parke-Davis throat discs,
which contained a small amount of chloroform - nowadays suspected by
some to be carcinogenic!"
It is interesting that the countries
which grow
most of the world's drugs don't use them recreationally but
Europe was one of the largest importers.
This paper weight from Mannheim, Germany
was a great marketing tool for the company that proud
of being world's biggest producers of products
containing Quinine and Cocaine.
Opium drops for asthma were very popular,
even for people who didn't have the lung problem.
Click to enlarge Vapor-OL
Treatment No. 6.
Actually, some of those opiates might
be less problematic than the steroids that are prescribed
today! Most inhaled steroid are very expensive and
over time, devastating to the bones and immune system.
Cocaine drops for toothache? Why
not? They were very popular for children in the 1800s.
Laced with cocaine, the toothache drops relieved the pain - and made the children happy!
What do we give kids today?
 |
