In the nineteenth century people consumed opium in the form of laudanum to relieve their anxieties. Today drug abuse has become a problem of epic proportions. For a segment of our society, chemicals represent relief from physical and mental pain. (CS)

Compares scientific explanations of addiction of the 1920s and 1930s to today's. Details the history of addiction testing and research, the development of criteria for defining addiction, and both physiological and psychological definitions of addiction. Suggests that the changing status of addiction as a disease reflects different meanings…

Describes early twentieth-century responses to the drug problem in the United States. Discusses pressure from the media and reformers to control the availability of drugs such as opium and cocaine that were widely available in over-the-counter medications. Focuses on New York State, which took the lead in enacting drug control legislation. (DK)

Discusses the wave of cocaine abuse that followed the drug's recommendation by the late nineteenth-century medical community as a cure all. Details drug addiction among ethnic and social groups at the turn of the century. Warns that drug epidemics have important social and legal consequences. Suggests legal pressure may alter the form of drug…

Traces the history of drug control in the United States from the extensive consumption of opium, heroin, and cocaine before World War I to the popularity of marijuana and LSD during the 1960s. Discusses public concern over drug use that seems to peak following periods of widespread drug use that is linked to foreign influences. (DK)

This paper contains ethnographic participant-observation field notes taken on a one-night visit to a "shooting gallery" in East Harlem (New York City) along with background information and commentary. East Harlem, also referred to as "El Barrio" or Spanish Harlem, is a 200-square block neighborhood on the upper East Side of…