Effects Of Drugs In The Victorian Era

The use of what are now considered illegal drugs date back as far as 300 BC in many different places of the world. Historically, it has not only been criminals that used illegal drugs. Drugs were used for many things including medicinal purposes, spiritual enlightenment, rituals, as well as for recreation. They were also used by many different cultures, age groups, and social classes. There was a time when the only thing around to alleviate physical pain either from illness, injury, or even during the process of dying were some of these drugs. There were no illegal drugs in the United States until the mid-nineteenth century. This is an essay on 12 of these illegal drugs individually as reported on in the History Channels documentary “Hooked, Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way”.

The world today consists of children roaming the streets, technology taking over the world, and being able to work wherever you'd like but, could you imagine a life without all these things? Believe it or not there was a time in life where these things were very uncommon to see. This would be known as the victorian era. This time period was between 1837 and 1901. Daily life was very different from now. Health, social classes, and fashion are just three examples of how daily life was different in the victorian era.

Opium came from opium poppy seeds, which were grown and sold under British ruling in India. The British East India Company developed a monopoly which took place in effectively growing opium and making profits and/or trading it with the Chinese in exchange for their premium good such as silk, porcelain, and tea. According to Memorials on the Legalization and Elimination of Opium by Xu Naiji and Yuan Yulin, they explained how the rise of opium prompted many debts and death around China. Opium became an addiction for many, from the poor to officials in government positions. Cutting off all access of trading opium would’ve started issues in the trading network, not just with Britain but with the Western countries as well. Instead of passing laws to completely ban opium, they reverted to only permitting the barbarian merchants to import opium to pay duty as a medication. This made it unacceptable for money to be involved with the product. According to Xu Naiji, smokers of opium were lazy, with no purpose in life and if they were caught smoking it, the only punishment was getting the opium confiscated. However, if any officer, scholar, or soldier were found smoking opium, the would be immediately dismissed from public employ. Yuan Yulin, a minister, believes that the expansion of opium is the government’s fault, being that they cannot decipher right from wrong; he thought it was unfair that prohibition of smoking opium only applied to the officers of the government, scholars, and military but not the common people. The British capitalized on the effects of opium, because many of China’s population were going to put forth their money, goods, etc. for

Moreover, another dangerous substance that is consumer is opium. Opium is an addictive drug that is taken from a poppy plant. At first, this drug is used as a narcotic in medicine as an anesthetic as the dangers associated with it are outweighed from the medicinal properties. The prohibition of opium originated from foreign disputes. Professor David F. Musto wrote that “Americans had quickly associated smoking opium with Chinese immigrants who arrive after the Civil War to work on railroad construction. This association was of the earliest examples of a powerful theme in American perception of

The East India Company hired and farmed opium out to “country farmers”, Chinese citizens who farmed Britain opium, because the ban restricted the trade. The country traders sold the opium to smugglers along the Chinese coast. In China, the company used the gold and silver it received from the country farmers to purchase goods that could be sold profitably in England. A network of opium distribution had formed throughout China, often with the connivance of corrupt officials. Levels of opium addiction grew so high that it began to affect the imperial troops and the official classes, in the early 1830’s7,8. The majority of Chinese officials responsible to enforce the prohibition of the opium network were addicted to the drug themselves. In 1835, it was assumed that close to 90 percent of the government staffed positions were filled with opium users. The drugs gave potential to allow officials to meet taxation quotas, so many officials approved of the cultivation while the central government remained ignorant. Because of this, most local magistrates did not frown on the drugs cultivation and allowed the black market of opium to become the economy. Since the central government remained blind to the actions in the countryside, the throne was unaware of the gravity of the peoples’ addiction.7

This was a time period where the government was very liberal pertaining to drug laws. The government did not think that it was their place to tell people what was useful for them to take or not. During this time period the U.S. used to import and export opiates to other countries. In the period before 1913 the alcohol taxes provided about half of the federal income, but in that year an income tax was introduced which in turn made a decision to prohibit alcohol much easier for those who were making the decision in the government. Between of years of 1919-1923 is where the American people lost their rights to control their own medical treatment. The act that was passed that took this right away was the Harrison act. This act restricted doctors to prescribing narcotics only in the course of their professional practice. The passing of this law lead to lead to the harassing of doctors who did no follow the laws and sent a message to those who did not pay close attention to the specific definition of what constituted as professional practice. This was of course dependant on the persons interpretation was. There ended up being a number of doctors that ended up getting jail time and many others with warnings. This act also put a restriction on the physicians and their ability to give drugs. The physicians could only give drugs on a doctor?s prescription. January 16, 1920 was the

In The Pursuit of Oblivion, author Richard Davenport sets out to explain that drug use is completely normal, and the natural pursuit of intoxication is human history. He talks about evidence of drug use dating all the way back to 1552 B.C. with opium in ancient Egypt. Papyrus scrolls from the time period revealed over seven hundred different mixtures of opium, used for various medical and recreational purposes. He points out that drug use is a part of human nature and “Intoxication is neither unnatural or deviant.“ I agree that it is a

Drug use has surrounded us as a species since the stone age. The first references of alcohol were found within ancient Chinese civilizations, which date to roughly 9,000 years ago (McGovern, et al.). The original sources for these alcohols were rice and millet. One of the first surgical anesthetics used was opium. It is believed that some of the first Sumerian clay tablets contained basic prescriptions of opium for pain relief. Many Arabic cultures also used opium for diseases and issues relating to gastrointestinal issues and eye abnormalities (McGovern, et al.). Whether drugs were used for recreational purposes or for medicinal uses is left in the history.

Throughout history men and women have been consuming psychotrophic substances for various purposes, including for relaxation, to achieve a state of euphoria, or to alter consciousness in order to find spiritual enlightenment. References to the opium poppy, which has been a major source of these psychotrophic substances, have been discovered in writings as far back as that of the Sumerians in 3300BC (Fernandez 1998:3). Opium has been used in various forms over the centuries for medicinal in addition to recreational purposes.

During the late 1800’s, tobacco and cocaine were widely addressed as the main drug problem. Little did people know, that heroine and Coca-Cola were also underlying problems. Tobacco was

In 1909 Congress declared that opium smoking was a federal offence by passing the Anti-Opium Act. The Anti-Opium Act was unfair toward the Chinese because this minority group was highly known to smoke opium while whites abused the drug in other ways. According to reports drinking and injecting tinctures of opiates were popular among whites (Bobo & Thompson, 2006).

Drugs first surfaced in the late 1880’s with Opium. Opium at the time was the most in demand drug choice. Opium comes from a flower called, “Opium Poppy”, people would take the “fruit” of the flower, which was the actual opium and let it dry up and then it was either; smoked, injected, eaten or put in drinks. When the drug effects kicks it the user would start

Drugs during the 1860's to 1960's weren't exposed or widely used in our society, it was also not seen as "getting out-of-hand". The War on Drugs was declared in 1971 by President Nixon, this allowed political bias to increase the size and presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. With this intention, many of members of society that were discriminated against (e.g. African American and Anti-War community) began to rebel even more, which includes an indulgence of abusing

The world leads to the introduction of drugs and open up the minds. A population university professors were preaching “ tune and drop out”, they were promoting drug use in America. As most of us know, this path would lead us down the path to drug abuse and away from traditional family value. Not only where the musicians trying drugs, but also some of their fans were using it too, they would do it while listening to their music. Most of these people trying drugs were because bands were doing it. Also, they would write songs about drug wish encourage them to try it. Another music band was the Beatles. The Beatles music career has been difficult due to the drugs.First, the Beatles were taking pills In the 1960s the year people in America were showing discontentment and dissatisfaction with life thru music and protest.The 1960s, a professor named Timothy Leary, who teaches at Harvard begged people to try the drug (LSD).Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known as acid, is a “psychedelic drug known for its psychological effects.” Some popular drug in the 1960s was heroin, Marijuana, and LSD. Heroin is an “opioid drug that is synthesized from morphine.” Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder or as a black sticky substance, known as “black tar heroin.”Marijuana was first used by jazz musicians and hip characters in the inner cities, this was known as the beat generation. The drug marijuana comes from the marijuana plant. Also Marijuana is used to elevate perception, affect mood, and relax. Also in 1960, the

The beginning of the Victorian Period marked when Queen Victoria ascended the British throne in 1837 for 64 years until her death in 1901. She was only 18 years old when she was queen of England. In this era, there was a time when England had political stability and strict cultural patterns. Peace among the society in England was characterized by this era. There was a control in the way that people act and interact due to the cultural rules that needed to be followed. However, people in the British Empire appreciated having the consistency of having one ruler for such a long time. In addition, people lived in villages and worked on the land in the time of this period. At the same time, there were a lot significant changes. For instance, there