Drugs and Alcohol

Sharee Hamilton

Health and Society 2

February 11, 2015

The first era that Altered States examines, is that of the “Enchanted Herb” nicotine. Back in the 2nd quarter of the 17th century China and Russia didn’t allow smoking. In Russia if you were caught they would slit your nostrils but, if you were caught in China smoking tobacco you were sentenced straight to death. When nicotine was first introduced to North America, like other drugs, some thought of it as a cure-all. 9 out of 10 people in America were either snuffing or smoking tobacco. When nothing seemed to stop the expansion of this addictive drug Europe began taxing to try and solve the problem. Throughout the years the number of smokers have dropped but, it wasn’t until more recently when businesses such as coffee shops and other stores and restaurants quit allowing tobacco to be smoked inside, that an entire 50 percent of smokers kicked the habit.

In my opinion the longest war we have been in is with the use of Alcohol. Alcohol has been around for presumably thousands of years and wasn’t noticeably argued as bad for one’s health until Benjamin Rush in 1784. Rush was laughed at by everyone and his studies went unconsidered. After the British came, whiskey became the patriotic drink and considering it was cheaper than coffee, people were drinking it with every meal. By the 1830s Americans were drinking 5 gallons of liquor a year. That’s three times the amount of liquor the average American drinks today. The biggest hit on alcohol abuse was hit when the pledges started. Americans began pledging to do one of two things; stop drinking alcohol, or stop drinking hard liquor and on occasion drink beverages with a lower percentage of alcohol, such as wine. In result from the pledges nearly half of all Americans quit drinking altogether.

In the new drug era around the 1880s, cocaine, opiates, and cannabis were used as everyday medications. For example, cannabis was used to treat migraines and heroine was...