This is a recurring phenomenon in the US: Opium/Morphine in the late 1800s: "Throughout the late 1800s, the opiates (morphine and opium) continued to be distr

This is a recurring phenomenon in the US: Opium/Morphine in the late 1800s: "Throughout the late 1800s, the opiates (morphine and opium) continued to be distributed widely in patent medicines. There was also a widespread physicians' practice of prescribing opiates for menstrual and menopausal disorders. Too, there was extravagant advertising of the opiate patent medicines as able to relieve "female troubles." Women, it seemed, had become the prevalent class of opiate users. Prescription and patent medicines containing the substances were advertised and accepted without question. Also, this was a convenient, gentile drug for a dependent lady who would never be seen drinking in public. "The extent to which alcohol-drinking by women was frowned upon may also [in addition to opiate medicines] have contributed to the excess of women among opiate users. Husbands drank alcohol in the saloon; wives took opium at home" (Brecher, 1972)."[0] Amphetamines in the 1930s: "Abuse of the drug began during the 1930s, when it was marketed under the name Benzedrine and sold in an over-the-counter inhaler. During World War II, amphetamines were widely distributed to soldiers to combat fatigue and improve both mood and endurance, and after the war physicians began to prescribe amphetamines to fight depression. As legal usage of amphetamines increased, a black market emerged. Common users of illicit amphetamines included truck drivers on long commutes and athletes looking for better performance. Students referred to the drug as "pep pills" and used them to aid in studying."[1] LSD in the 1950s: "Non-therapeutic use of LSD increased throughout the late 1950s and 1960s. Among the first groups to use LSD recreationally were research study participants, physicians, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals who later distributed the drug among their friends. Prior to 1962, LSD was available only on a small scale to those who had connections in the medical field, as all the LSD was produced by Sandoz Laboratories, in Basel Switzerland, and then distributed to health professionals. However, the drug was not difficult to produce in a chemical laboratory. The formula could be purchased for 50 cents from the US patent office, and the LSD itself could be stored inside blotting paper. Soon a black market for LSD in the US emerged."[2] On the one hand, it's tragic. On the other, these events seem to have a similar arc and we should not be surprised to see opioids taken off the market and criminalized, like Opium and Amphetamines. [0] http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/casey1.htm http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/casey1.htm [1], [2] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/buyers/socialhistory.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/buyers/s...