
Drug overdose deaths in the US are estimated to have been around 59,000 in 2016 and addiction is on the rise. But drug addiction and deaths have always been a part of our history – on the Mayflower, the doctor carried a kit with an early form of laudanum. Cocaine, heroin, opium, alcohol, marijuana . . . our grandparents used all of these to cure their illnesses – often unknowingly. Addiction isn’t new: patent medicines weren’t usually patented (no one wanted to share the ingredients) – and they weren’t regulated, either.
The FDA was formed in 1906 but it was years before true regulation took place. From the 1800’s through the 1930’s, patent medicines were sold to cure everything from baldness to serious diseases. Some “cures” were harmless sugar water and some were strong drugs. Laudanum, for instance (which included opium, alcohol, and morphine), was used to relieve coughing, diarrhea, and general pain. Continue reading →