5 Things About Drugs in America (XtraXtraLex Throwback) (Patreon)

Ahhhh, drugs. Getting people imprisoned and marked for life as criminals since the early 1900's (depending on the poison). But before they were keeping the prison system filled with minorities and the impoverished, drugsrwere legal, thriving, and a big part of American society. They teach you in school that drugs are bad and illegal- but they have some pretty fascinating back stories.  Here's 5 things you probably didn't know. 

1) Before there were cracked out poor people in the ghettos of America, there were opiate-riddled rich women in the 19th century.

There was a surge of opiate use in the 19th century because it was often prescribed to women with "female problems" (this usually meant menstrual pain). Between 2/3 and 3/4 of the 200,000 opiate addicts in the US were women- the majority of them wealthy and white.   

2) Heroin was once considered "Heroic"

Bayer, the same folks who created Asprin, first introduced diacetylmorphine, which they named "Heroin", on the American market in 1898. The word was derived from the greek word Heros because of it's "heroic" effect on users. It was originally marketed as a cough suppressant; meant to be an alternative to the highly addictive Morphine- but then evolved into a cure for morphine addiction. Little did Bayer know that Heroin was actually even more addictive- and they would unwittingly create an entire generation of addicts. 

 3) Before cocaine gained a reputation as a drug for rich people, it was the drug of choice for minorities and the impoverished

In 1855, US manufacturer Parke-Davis began selling cocaine in cigarettes, powder, and mixtures (the latter of which came with a needle) for a variety of ailments. In 20th century Memphis, Tennessee, cocaine was sold in drugstores along Beale Street for 5 to 10 cents a box. Additionally, white employees encouraged their black laborers to use it to increase their strength, stamina, and productivity. Quickly, cocaine became popular in the black community. Soon, there were reports in newspapers of crazed cocaine-fueled negros terrorizing cities and people. In actuality, cocaine (the drug that makes people feel invincible) had made its users start getting lippy- asking for privileges, raises, to be treated like human beings, and the such. As more black people started standing up to the man (fueled by cocaine, of course), the drug began to be demonized. A judge in Mississippi said "supplying a negro with cocaine is more dangerous than injecting a dog with rabies." There were tales of black men getting superhero strength from the drug- scaring white people everywhere. Cocaine would soon become illegal as White America feared cocaine would make black people become rapist savages. 

 4) LSD was used by the CIA to create a technique for mind control. No, this is not a conspiracy theory. Yes, it really happened. 

Watch the video I made on the topic here 

LSD was originally used to treat alcoholism and pain (it didn't lessen pain, but made it's users less distressed by it) after accidentally being discovered in the first half of the 20th century. In the 1950's, the CIA started a program entitled Project MKULTRA. Their ultimate goal was to develop a technique for extracting important information from unwilling participants- spies, terrorists, war criminals, etc. One of their methods of creating a mind control technique was by administering LSD to unknowing participants. They started off with mental patients, prostitutes, prisoners, and drug addicts. There is a case of LSD being administered to a mental patient in Kentucky for 174 days. WIth "Operation Midnight Climax", they opened brothels in San Francisco, California and cornered embarrassed customers in rooms with one-way mirrors, forcing them to take LSD. They soon graduated to discreetly giving LSD to members of the military and CIA, people who were believed to be communists or traitors. One CIA employee recalled it being totally normal for someone to be drinking their coffee and to start tripping balls. One CIA employee jumped (or was pushed) out of a 13th story window while on LSD. Additionally, there were even doses of LSD given out to people of the public. Who is to say a good chunk of people in mental asylums and prisons in the 50's and onward weren't committing a crime under a CIA-funded LSD binge? Crazy!  Though there were tons of other experiments done during MKULTRA, LSD fits this list the best. 

5) Meth was given to members of the military (say that 5x fast!)

In the 1950's, Meth was marketed for sinus inflammation and for non-medicinal purposes as "Pep Pills"- meant to give energy and focus to the user. It's no surprise that these pills had been widely given to members of the mililtary during World War II.