This is the second posting reporting the development of a
civics unit of study regarding the opioids epidemic. This development is in real time and this
posting will begin looking at the history of the epidemic. In reviewing that history, it is useful to make
a distinction; a distinction that is no longer observed. Historically, people used the term opiates to
indicate all drugs derived from opium.
Later, the term, opioids, was used to distinguish between opiates from
synthetic opiates. Today, the term,
opioids, is generally used to include both categories.
This posting
makes this distinction because this history of “opioids” stretches back to the
nineteenth century when opiates were introduced to the US. During the Civil War, morphine, an opiate, was
an effective pain reliever. Afterwards,
the famous company, Bayar (as in Bayar aspirin) sold heroin (1898 to 1910) as a
cough-suppressant; claiming it was non-addictive.
Apparently, experience with it proved
otherwise and in due time concern among doctors were expressed by their increased
reluctance to prescribe opiates. Shortly after, the US Congress enacted the
Harrison Narcotics Act in 1914 which imposed a tax on opiates and, still later,
the Anti-Heroin Act of 1924. In this
latter legislation, Congress made the importation or manufacturing of heroin
illegal.[1]
In terms of general awareness among
Americans, it was, at that time, quite limited.
One can detect during the 1950s a belief that an addiction problem
existed among jazz musicians but not a problem affecting typical
Americans. Instead, the mere presence of
heroin in the country was considered a frightening condition but limited to
small groups within the population.[2] As a young person, this writer can remember
this general aversion to illegal drugs.
Then, during the years of Vietnam
protest, there seems to have been a shift in public opinion. In the 1960s and 1970s, one could readily
detect the popularization of drugs among certain segments of the population –
such as, on college campuses. Chief
among the favored drugs was marijuana and hallucinatory drugs, aka psychedelics. The consumption of these drugs became common
and, in popular media, often referred to and depicted. There was even a much-highlighted event in
which drug taking was featured; i.e., the Woodstock music festival.[3]
The war in Vietnam became a
contributing factor since soldiers, coming home, often came with addictions,
such as on heroin. In Vietnam, these
drugs were easily acquired. In addition,
there were highly publicized events, including the overdose death of Janis
Joplin, that furthered the general awareness of the problem. How extensive was drug-use among returning
soldiers? A Congressional report stated
that 10 to 15 percent of returning vets were addicted to heroin.
This drew the attention of the president;
he, President Nixon, declared drug abuse as the nation’s number one enemy.[4] And the noted statistics did not undermine
the conclusion. In 1973 the estimate was
that 1.5 deaths per 100,000 population were due to overdoses.[5] What was not known, at the time, was that
this level of drug-taking was only an introduction to what was to follow. The next posting will continue this history
and how the emphasis shifted to prescribed opioids.
[1] Sonia Moghe, “Opioid History: From ‘Wonder Drug’ to Abuse Epidemic,” CNN, October 14, 2016, accessed June 18,
2018, https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/12/health/opioid-addiction-history/
.
[2] Christopher Caldwell, “American Carnage: The Landscape of Opioid Addiction,” First Things, April 2017, accessed June
18, 2018, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/04/american-carnage
.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “Interview:
Dr. Robert DuPont,” Frontline,
2014 (estimated), accessed June 18, 2018, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/dupont.html
.
[5] Christopher Caldwell, “American Carnage: The Landscape of Opioid Addiction.”
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