HLTHAGE 2L03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Moral Panic, Morphine, Energizer
11 Sep 2018
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Introduction: drugs not classified according to chemical properties or effects; social conditions key. The chemical nature of the drugs might be similar. Speed in comparison to aderol; looking at the effect of the drugs: whether a drug is addictive not universally objective fact. What counts as being addictive is a social question not a chemical question. The tolerance levels, withdrawal: substances previously seen as helpful or neutral become monstrous once criminalized, what pushes the drug into one category over another. Early patent medicines relied on opium as pain reliever. So valuable that britain fought two wars with china to force legalization and protect trade. Other poppy derivatives similarly lauded, but addiction fears arise among patients. Things that happened to doctors that took in too much opium. Doctors were always seen as victims: heroin synthesized by bayer, promoted as treatment for morphine addiction; heroin not believed to be addictive.
