America has a long history of drug use, and abuse, but to understand it fully, and learn how to combat it, let’s go to the very start.

1492: Columbus, who is believed to be the first to discover America, is gifted tobacco from the natives, but later, throws it over board. Drugs were not widely distributed or understood, especially as medicine had yet to be developed past leeches, and bad blood.

Skimming through history, passing over tobacco becoming wide spread and common, coffee houses, rum, pubs, and tea, we continue on to the first discovery of morphine.

1804: A German Scientist is able to extract Morphine from the opium poppy’s juice. Through experiments on animals, and later on himself, he was able to identify the properties, and medical uses for Morphine. He also identified the effects of different doses.

1861: Civil war begins the first large scale drug addiction since tobacco and alcohol, with army doctors prescribing morphine left and right.

1873: Realizing the negative affects of drug use, and abuse, prohibitionists organize.

1884: Cocaine becomes the magic cure-all. Cocaine was used to “cure” morphine and alcohol addiction. Many physicians believed that cocaine was able to cure anything from the common cold, to earaches. It was widely used and distributed until a doctor from Chicago had reportedly gone insane from drug abuse.

1886: Coca Cola began making their products from cocaine, branding themselves as a medicine

1887: Oregon bans cocaine without prescription

1895: Coca-Cola turns from medicine, to soft drink.

1898: Heroin is sold as cough suppresent.

1911: Coca-Cola is sued by the government, and wins. Cocaine is linked by NYT to prostitution.

1914: Cigarettes called gateway drug. Drugs and race debate surfaces.

1915: California bans Pot

1920: The Alcohol prohibition begins.

1936: Refer Madness an exaggerated film attempts to steer teens away from marijuana by showing the dangers of abusing the drug.

1939: Tobacco and lung cancer are linked.

1950: Cancer and cigarettes are proven to be linked by a study.

1965-1970: Illegal drug abuse becomes increasingly common. The Drug abuse prevention and control act i instated, allowing police to search on drug warrants.

1964-1973: Drug abuse is prevalent in Vietnam by American Soldiers.

1971: The Nixon declares the War on Drugs.

1980: The idea of smoking Cocaine is introduced by comedian Richard Pryor accidentally setting himself afire whilst attempting to smoke.

1982: Colombia’s drug cartel becomes a member of congress, granting him immunity.

1984: Columbia destroys $1 billion worth of Cocaine.

1986: College Basket-ball star dies from cocaine overdose, causing a nation-wide panic.

1988: New drug laws are instituted of crack (cocaine). Tobacco industry loses law suit.

1998: Drug arrests boom. Master Settlement- Tobacco companies pay $246 billion over several years to pay for smoking related health issues.

1914: Harrison Act is the first law criminalizing drug users.

1937: Marijuana prohibition enacted.

1947: Jazz musicians arrested for Marijuana abuse

1956: Illegal drug selling, and crime linked in the public mind.

Skipping a few more years to the present, and some states have legalized drugs in an attempt to end drug abuse, and criminal drug cartels.

As we can see, from the history of drugs, abuse began as simple ignorance. Columbus, not understanding what he had simply dumped tobacco over board, and scientists and doctors prescribed derivatives of opium willy-nilly, not fully understanding all the effects and draw backs. Today, despite great efforts, a large portion of Americans are susceptible to the lies of the illegal, and in some cases legal, drug industry. They fall prey to the lies of the high, and not the effects, or withdrawals. America has the right idea with legalizing drugs to stop crime, and dangerous abuse, but it needs a better plan in place. In Portugal, drug use was decriminalized, and instead of police sending users to prison, they sent them to specialized facilities. Facilities that offered safe drug use, and help to overcome addiction. In the end, the people who use drugs shouldn’t be demonized, but rather the drugs themselves. Once people start to realize that the problem lies in the drug, and that people can overcome, the more accepting they will be, and the easier it will be to overcome.

Sources used: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5125194/ http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/whiteb1.htm https://www.shmoop.com/drugs-america/timeline.html pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/buyers/socialhistory.html https://schoology.idiglearning.org/link?path=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.deamuseum.org%2F https://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2014/12/18/1884-a-cure-all-called-cocaine/ https://time.com/longform/portugal-drug-use-decriminalization/