American Experience With Stimulants and Opiates

• NCJ Number: 169283
• Author(s): D F Musto
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 0 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/NCJRS
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC; color VHS video, 69 mins., from NIJ's "Perspectives on Crime and Justice" video lecture series.

Annotation

This video lecture by Dr. David Musto traces the history of alcohol, stimulant (cocaine), and opiate (heroin) use in America and the social and political response to it from the latter part of the 19th century to current policies.

Abstract

Musto notes that the swings in alcohol use from the latter part of the 19th century to the present have mirrored other drug use as well as concerns about healthful practices in food consumption. The restrictive social response to alcohol and other drug use typically lags behind peak use; that is, epidemics of drug use have usually peaked and are in decline before restrictive legislation and strong enforcement efforts are deployed. The social response to abusive drug use typically evolves from an emphasis on moderation to abstinence. Upon being introduced to American society in the latter part of the 19th century, both heroin and cocaine were promoted as being healthful and life-enhancing drugs. There was virtually no research on the long-term and addictive effects of stimulants and opiates. It was only after the behavioral and addictive properties of the drugs were learned from experience that the negative social response occurred, but by then the peak of the epidemic was reached and decline began to occur. In the 19th century, this restrictive response was orchestrated by each State, given the political emphasis on States' rights. The Harrison Act of 1914 was the first Federal legislation designed to restrict stimulant and opiate use. Since then, many politicians have used drug abuse as the focal point for analyzing social problems, particularly among minorities. This has diverted social policy from some of the underlying factors in the Nation's socioeconomic problems. Musto notes that there is no single solution to the drug problem. He sees the value of drug laws in setting norms for drug-use behavior, but suggests that patterns of drug use may operate independently of the characteristics of official drug policy. He does not foresee any immediate change in the current restrictive policy toward drug use.