HIS 130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Methadone, Peter Bourne, Nancy Reagan
Document Summary
U. s. is 5% of the world"s population. 1990"s was the height of the drug scare. Federal government was highly involved in people"s personal life, while at the same time, personal freedom was increasing (more freedom) More freedom led to more drug use. In new york city, there were 450 overdoses in the first 6 months, and 900 by the end of the year in 1968. The war on drugs involved all levels of the government. For the first time, drugs affected whites and middle classes. Nixon tried to get celebrities to help incorporate anti-drug topics in their culture/ music. There was a new focus on heroin users; treatment. Methadone was used to help cure symptoms of heroin use. 20,000 heroin addicts were using methadone, which was considered a success because addicts were no longer using heroin and weren"t ending up in prison. By 1973, heroin use had decreased, partly due to the use of methadone.