Book Description
Most Americans would be surprised to learn that large quantities of beer were brought over on the Puritan ships and that the hallowed Puritans were fond of drink. How many today realize that hemp was once one of our most lucrative cash cropsencouraged by President John Adams and promoted by the Agriculture department? Or that cocaine, opium and heroin had several waves of popularity in this century and the last? Drugs and alcohol have been with us from the start. So have attempts to control or eliminate their use. In the first anthology of its kind, renowned drug policy expert David Musto chronicles the rise and fall and rise again of the most popular mind altering substances in the Unites States: alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and opiates. In the section on alcohol we hear the Reverend Lyman Beecher, prominent radical abolitionist and father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, thundering against the evils of alcoholin 1826. We read medical documents that show how the first stirrings of concern about about what is now termed fetal-alcohol syndrome in 1910 turned public opinion against drinking and helped move the country toward Prohibition. The sections on illegal drugs contain surprises as well. With accessible, jargon-free introductions this anthology puts drug and alcohol use at the center of American culture. At this critical point in the "war on drugs" if we do not appreciate our drug and alcohol history we may become captive to the powerful emotions that lead to draconian repression, exaggeration, or apathy and silence.
About the Author
David F. Musto M.D. is Professor of the History of Medicine and Child Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and Lecturer of History and American Studies at Yale University. He is the author of The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control.
Drugs in America: A Historical Reader FROM THE PUBLISHER
Most Americans would be surprised to learn that large quantities of beer were brought over on the Mayflower and that the hallowed Puritans were fond of drink. How many today realize that hemp was once one of our most lucrative cash crops -- encouraged by John Adams and promoted by the Department of Agriculture? Or that cocaine, opium, and heroin had several waves of popularity in this century and the last? Drugs and alcohol have been with us from the start. So have attempts to control or eliminate their use. In the first anthology of its kind, renowned drug policy expert David F. Musto chronicles the rise and fall and rise again of the most popular mind-altering substances in the Unites States: alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and opiates. In the section on alcohol, we hear the Reverend Lyman Beecher, eloquent prohibitionist and father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, thundering against the evils of alcohol -- in 1826. We read medical documents that show how the first stirrings of concern about fetal alcohol syndrome in 1910 helped turn public opinion against drinking and moved the country toward Prohibition. The sections on illegal drugs contain surprises as well. Heroin is shown to be introduced by the Bayer Company in 1898 as a cough medicine, and cocaine was initially touted by the U.S. Hay Fever Association as an ideal remedy. With accessible, jargon-free introductions, this anthology puts drug and alcohol use at the center of American culture. At this critical point in the "war on drugs," we must appreciate our drug and alcohol history or become captive to the powerful emotions that lead either to Draconian repression and exaggeration or apathy and silence.
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