In the late 1970s, Valium, also known as the “Mother’s little helper,” became very popular in the life of white middle-class women. It was widely recognized for its so-called ability to help relieve the emotional and psychological pressures in the life of most middle-class women. The addiction to “the new white-collar aspirin” attracted the public attention, extending from temperance movement to the twentieth century’s war against drugs. The US anti-drug campaigns usually targeted drugs related to suspect populations, such as non-white, immigrants, and low-class urban people. Antidrug stories emphasized the division between the social groups in the US. In the event of Valium hysteria, the respectable medical authorities who legally prescribed
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During this era, almost 90 million bottles of Valium dispensed annually. According to the national survey, fifteen percent of all American men have used this drug in the past year, and five percent of them used it routinely, at least once or more per day for several months. The rate of Valium users was surprisingly higher in women than in men. Twenty percent of middle-class women have used this “wonder drug” in the past year, and ten percent were reported as habitual users. Over-prescription of this drug shown many women became dependent on the miracle pill to get through their day and acute withdrawals began to be made. In the 1980s, new drugs such as Prozac (antidepressant) and Xanax (antianxiety) took place of Valium and became the leading psychotropic remedies in the United …show more content…
But, in the early 1960s, the concept of addiction was considered as a “disease” rather than a crime. This view gained public support from the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association and even formalized by the Supreme Court in 1962. Big pharmaceutical companies and respectable physicians were attacked by criticism. “The biggest dope dealer in the community today may well be the good old family doctor, and the pusher supplying him is the tranquilizer manufacturer.” (Herzberg 84-85). It was the ugly truth about the marketing strategies of these companies who encouraged physicians to overprescribe drugs to their patients without warning them the consequences of
During this era, almost 90 million bottles of Valium dispensed annually. According to the national survey, fifteen percent of all American men have used this drug in the past year, and five percent of them used it routinely, at least once or more per day for several months. The rate of Valium users was surprisingly higher in women than in men. Twenty percent of middle-class women have used this “wonder drug” in the past year, and ten percent were reported as habitual users. Over-prescription of this drug shown many women became dependent on the miracle pill to get through their day and acute withdrawals began to be made. In the 1980s, new drugs such as Prozac (antidepressant) and Xanax (antianxiety) took place of Valium and became the leading psychotropic remedies in the United …show more content…
But, in the early 1960s, the concept of addiction was considered as a “disease” rather than a crime. This view gained public support from the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association and even formalized by the Supreme Court in 1962. Big pharmaceutical companies and respectable physicians were attacked by criticism. “The biggest dope dealer in the community today may well be the good old family doctor, and the pusher supplying him is the tranquilizer manufacturer.” (Herzberg 84-85). It was the ugly truth about the marketing strategies of these companies who encouraged physicians to overprescribe drugs to their patients without warning them the consequences of