America has had an ongoing problem with drug epidemics, we are currently in the middle of a country-wide heroin epidemic. To slow or stop the epidemic we need to look back on our past drug epidemics, specifically the cocaine epidemic, for it is relatively modern. During the cocaine epidemic, America and the people in it did some things well, but also a lot of things bad. The only way for us to move forward is to look back and learn. We need to check ourselves right now for what we have already done in the epidemic and make sure we are not making the same mistakes. For if we fall back and repeat the same tactics, this epidemic could be ongoing and could change the American culture and society for future generations.
The cocaine industry has been a problem in the world for the past century, a problem for which the world has yet to find a solution. The white power has been starting wars and ruining lives faster than any other drug before it. Before cocaine was used in the form of a powder, it was chewed in its leaf form. The cocaine comes from a leaf of a coca plant. It was used by Ancient Incas approximately 3000 BC; they would chew it to get their hearts racing before religious rituals. Cocaine was first extracted from the coca plant in 1859 by German chemist Albert Niemann. However, it did not become popular among the medical community until 1880. The first person to support cocaine as a tonic cure for depressions and sexual impotence was Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Freud actually used the drug himself. The only complaint Freud ever had about cocaine, is that occasionally he would have hallucinations of white snakes crawling on his skin, which is pretty unsettling. Freud would eventually regret his support for cocaine. He expressed this when he said, “I was making frequent use of cocaine at that time ... I had been the first to recommend the use of cocaine, in 1885, and this recommendation had brought serious reproaches down on me.” (Sigmund Freud) Heroin is an opioid, so it is related …show more content…
Needless to say, it has a big family tree. Opioids were very popular in America in the mid-1800’s. The popularity of opium was due to the influx of Chinese immigrants bringing opioids to America. In the 1800’s opium dens were almost as popular as a saloon and the drugs were a social normality. Obviously, that is not the same today. Opium was mainly promoted in America as a cure for alcoholism. One of the first drugs to be derived from opium was morphine. Morphine was developed as a painkiller, it was considered a wonder drug because it eliminated severe pain associated with medical operations and traumatic injuries. During the civil war, tens of thousands of Northern and Confederate soldiers became opioid addicts because of morphine. In 1874, the so-called answer for morphine addiction was found. The new wonder drug founded in Germany was called heroin after its German trademarked name. Heroin was imported into the United States, shortly after its invention. It was said that heroin was a “safe, non-addictive” substitute for morphine. Since this, heroin has always been a part of the American drug addiction problem. It has occasional spark ups, but the modern day epidemic has the potential to be America’s largest heroin epidemic
The cocaine industry has been a problem in the world for the past century, a problem for which the world has yet to find a solution. The white power has been starting wars and ruining lives faster than any other drug before it. Before cocaine was used in the form of a powder, it was chewed in its leaf form. The cocaine comes from a leaf of a coca plant. It was used by Ancient Incas approximately 3000 BC; they would chew it to get their hearts racing before religious rituals. Cocaine was first extracted from the coca plant in 1859 by German chemist Albert Niemann. However, it did not become popular among the medical community until 1880. The first person to support cocaine as a tonic cure for depressions and sexual impotence was Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Freud actually used the drug himself. The only complaint Freud ever had about cocaine, is that occasionally he would have hallucinations of white snakes crawling on his skin, which is pretty unsettling. Freud would eventually regret his support for cocaine. He expressed this when he said, “I was making frequent use of cocaine at that time ... I had been the first to recommend the use of cocaine, in 1885, and this recommendation had brought serious reproaches down on me.” (Sigmund Freud) Heroin is an opioid, so it is related …show more content…
Needless to say, it has a big family tree. Opioids were very popular in America in the mid-1800’s. The popularity of opium was due to the influx of Chinese immigrants bringing opioids to America. In the 1800’s opium dens were almost as popular as a saloon and the drugs were a social normality. Obviously, that is not the same today. Opium was mainly promoted in America as a cure for alcoholism. One of the first drugs to be derived from opium was morphine. Morphine was developed as a painkiller, it was considered a wonder drug because it eliminated severe pain associated with medical operations and traumatic injuries. During the civil war, tens of thousands of Northern and Confederate soldiers became opioid addicts because of morphine. In 1874, the so-called answer for morphine addiction was found. The new wonder drug founded in Germany was called heroin after its German trademarked name. Heroin was imported into the United States, shortly after its invention. It was said that heroin was a “safe, non-addictive” substitute for morphine. Since this, heroin has always been a part of the American drug addiction problem. It has occasional spark ups, but the modern day epidemic has the potential to be America’s largest heroin epidemic