Over the years, there has been controversy to if drugs are either good or bad. There are many drugs found which had impacted the world and mostly music in the 1960’s. The drugs included were mostly marijuana, amphetamine, and psychedelics, and a new generation embraced the drugs (Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History). Which impacted maybe some of your favorite artist such as Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, and even Jimi Hendrix to make the beloved songs that you enjoy listening. Some songs included Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 (Bob Dylan), White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane), and even Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix).
The U.S. noticed more and more people got involved in doing drugs and the government stepped in and created a campaign to prohibit use of a harmful substance and it introduced the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961. This international treaty prohibited the production and supply of specific drugs and of drugs with similar effects except under license for specific purposes, such as medical treatment and research purposes (Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Apr. 2014). Earlier treaties had only controlled opium, and coca, and deviates such as morphine, heroin, and cocaine.
One user of a substance known as heroin was used by no other than Bob Dylan and it helped him create one of his most beloved songs. Bob Dylan was under the influence of drugs and with thus creating Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35. In the lyrics, it says “But I would not feel so all alone, everybody must get stoned.” Bob Dylan was encouraging the new generation to become more involved in drugs and to join the crowd of the other drug abusers. Bob Dylan said that he spent an estimated $25 a day to feed his habit. Bob Dylan was hailed as the pop “messiah” (the voice of a generation) and facing a firestorm from critics and fans over his perceived abandonment of the “true faith” of folk music for electric rock and roll (The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 23 May 2011).
The Cultivation, use, and trade of psychoticative and other drugs has occurred since ancient times. Authorities have often restricted drugs, possessions, and trade for variety of reasons (Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Apr. 2014) .
Despite these laws, in the late 19th century saw an increase in opiate consumption, due to the prescribing and dispensing of legal opiates by physicians and pharmacists o relieve painful menstruation.
Before the mid 1900’s the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was formed to tax those making, importing or selling any derivative of opium or coca leaves. In the 1920s, doctors became aware of the highly addictive nature of opioids and started to avoid treating patients with them (Center, 2004). In 1924 heroin became illegal. However according to a history published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, anesthesiologists opened "nerve block clinics" in the 1950s and 1960s to manage pain without having to resort to surgery (Meldrum, 2003). This push for treating pain without surgery was a major factor in the opioid epidemic we see today. In 2008 the overdose death rate was almost four times the rate in 1999, and the sales of prescription pain relievers in 2010 were four times higher than in 1999 (Paulozzi et al, 2011). The substance use disorder treatment admission rate is also greater than in 1999, with it having been six times higher in 2009. Chasing Heroin’s claims surrounding the fear of prescribing pain medications is accurate as you see an increase in public policies surrounding opiate use in the early 1900’s. The climbing rates of overdose deaths and the increased amount of people seeking addiction treatment suggests that the fear of prescription opiates was
Cocaine itself is derived from the coca plant commonly found in South America. For centuries, the native people of South America have used the coca plant, its leaves in particular, as a stimulant for long work hours as well as for medical purposes. It was not until 1859 that modern cocaine was developed as a drug in Germany (Crack Cocaine History, n.d.). By the late 1800’s, the medical knowledge of cocaine had spread world-wide and many American doctors began to prescribe the use of cocaine as a medical drug to cure different illnesses and ease common pain. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s, however, that the negative side effects of cocaine became apparent; these side effects included addiction and death. With such detrimental side effects, cocaine was declared a threat to the nation and in 1914, cocaine became what’s known as a controlled substance that could only be obtained by a prescription from a doctor for medical reasons only (much like today’s ‘medical marijuana’). However, by controlling access and usage of cocaine, America inadvertently gave way to an entirely new drug cartel that they weren’t prepared to deal with. In the beginning of cocaine being a controlled substance, it became less popular and one of the lesser drugs to be abused in the United States. It wasn’t until the 1960’s and 70’s that the use of cocaine became popular again. This widespread ‘cocaine boom’ affected all
However, before the specific outcomes of Congressional influence and policy impact can be evaluated it becomes important to first review the general history and current situation of drugs today. Our present drug laws were first enacted at the beginning of the century. At the time, recreational use of narcotics was not a major social issue. The first regulatory legislation was for the purpose of standardizing the manufacturing and purity of pharmaceutical products. Shortly after, the first criminal laws were enacted which addressed opium products and cocaine. Although some states had prohibited the recreational use of marijuana, there was no federal criminal legislation until 1937. By contrast, the use of alcohol and its legality was a major social issue in United States in the early 20th century. This temperance movement culminated in the prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Recreational drug use, particularly heroin, became more prevalent among the urban poor during the early ?60s. Because of the high cost of heroin and its uncertain purity, its use was associated with crime and frequent overdoses.
Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
Beginning with the late 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco, music and drugs will forever be inter-linked. Hippie bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Phish are associated with marijuana, mushrooms, and LSD. Modern electronic “rave” , or club music is associated with MDMA or Ecstasy. When one thinks of rock and roll, sex and drugs immediately come to mind. While the use of drugs is not essential for the creation or performance of all new music, it was certainly in important factor for the counterculture music of the late 1960’s. While some of the most important and influential music was made with the help of psychoactive drugs, it was often to the detriment of the artist. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and countless other tremendously talented artists had their lives cut short due to drug use. Drugs were most often good for the music, but deadly for the music makers.
The drug culture was not limited to one group of individuals; different subgroups had their drug of choice. The belief that the drug culture was something that counterculture groups participated in is also a fiction, as there were other types of drug cultures present during the rise of the counterculture in the 1960s. However, alcohol, tobacco, and tranquilizers were the socially acceptable forms of drugs, so the demonization of LSD, marijuana, psilocybin, among others was allowed to take root and hold on strongly. It is only in the past few years that some of the states have decided to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Perhaps greater knowledge of the actual affects of these traditionally vilified drugs will lead to a conversation that includes measures for legalization and control.
The war on drugs began with the presidential term of President Nixon in the 1970s. According to drugpolicy.org, “He dramatically increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. Nixon temporarily placed marijuana in Schedule One, the most restrictive category of drugs.”
Anti-drug legislation has had an extensive and fascinating record in the United States. The initial drug that showed prevalent use in the nation was Opium, which came primarily from China. Opium was utilized as a recommendation drug by doctors, but the growing cases of addiction led to laws alongside this drug. The greater part of the opium addicts were girls due to the doctors tend to recommend the drug for many women’s particular problems. In 1875, a law was approved in California barring individuals from smoking opium. While the law pertained generally to Chinese immigrants it was the first place in anti-drug provision is the Unites States. At the Federal stage, the prohibition of importation of opium by Chinese nationals happened in 1887 and in 1905 opium smoking was constrained in the Philippines (Harrison). While these regulations were the initial steps, they did not have any absolute provisions to decrease drug supply and use in the country. The laws beleaguered the lessening of delivery of drugs in the country and do not deal with the problem of treatment of a true illness.
Government has not always seen fit to outlaw psychoactive drugs in the Western world. In fact, there was no prohibition in this country until 1914. Cocaine and Marijuana were both used in the late 19th century both for medicinal and recreational purposes. During this time there was considerable pressure for a ban on alcohol, but narcotics were simply not viewed as a threat to society. N...
Here is a little history on drug abuse. According to David Musto (1987) drug abuse has been around for approximately 100 years. Christian organizations had a meeting with congress and made a claim that drug abusers were hazardous, wicked individuals. These groups thought that the drug use among foreign individuals like the Chinamen and corrupt Mexicans were a threat for the American born individuals. These groups convinced Congress to criminalize drugs.
The sale and import of narcotics was first banned in 1914 in the United States; the full ban on narcotics emerged in in 1920. Failure followed closely since this prohibition made the drug trade go underground. 1 At the onset of the 1920s, the Narcotics Bureau, the predecessor of the Federnal Narcotics Bureau, was utilized by the federal government for “domestic suppression.” Protestant churches and the US mebers of Leagues of Nations united to lead America's limited international suppression in which the recent “long crusade” against the legal smoking in Asia had accelerated the formation. The US with...
Psychedelic drugs were really popular with musicians and artists and it had mostly affected music. It had mostly began in the 1960’s. This was the beginning of the “hippie music” or a new genre of music that is know as psychedelic rock. Many artists during these times were very hippie like and not a lot of hard of rock was out. The
Opium was introduced to America when Chinese immigrants came to California in the 1850’s to work in the gold mines and on the railroads (DEA Museum). It didn’t take long for American’s to become addicted to opium. Opium dens became common in communities and women and young people started to take pleasure in the far off land of euphoria that opium provided. Due to the overgrowing popularity and concern of the affects this drug had taken on the population the government tried to implement taxes. “Initially, opium was taxed, then licensed, then discouraged, and ultimately made illegal for most us...
Controversies over drugs and the effects they have physically, mentally, and emotionally have been around for centuries. Some argue the fact that smoking marijuana has no health effects on the body. Some also say that other drugs have no long term mental consequences to suffer. Now, thanks to technology and hours of studies, answers have came to show the true long term health effects of drugs on the human body and mind.
Throughout history drugs have been nothing but a social problem, a burden per say. From Edgar Allen Poe smoking opium in an attempt to make his poetry more creative, to Vietnam soldiers coming back from the war addicted to heroin. Narcotics was not a serious issue at the time, only a small hand full of people were actually doing the drugs, and they were just simply looked down upon. It was not until the late nineteen sixties when recreational drug use became fashionable among young, white, middle class American citizens, that the United States Government “put it’s foot down”. (pbs.com) They started slowly ,developing agencies like the (BNDD) Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which was founded in 1968 by the Linden Johnson administration. Congress also started passing laws like the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act in 1970.