Drug Use In The 1960s Essay

Drugs first surfaced in the United States in the 1800s. After the Civil War opium become very popular and was used medicinally. Following opium was cocaine which was also used as a health remedy but near the end of the 19th century opium and cocaine abuse peaked and local governments began to prohibit opium dens and importation. In 1914 the first federal drug policy, the Harrison Narcotics act, is passed and drugs are no longer seen as harmless remedies. The act aggressively regulated the manufacturing of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and morphine. During the 50’s more federal drug policies were passed and drugs began to become more criminalized. The 60’s saw a rise in counter-culture and substances such as marijuana and LSD saw widespread use. The demand for drugs skyrocketed in the 1960s. In 1971 President Nixon declared drug abuse America 's number one enemy and proclaimed that we must wave a all out offensive. After President Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1971, the United States has spent more than a trillion dollars on this failing policy that not only has had no effect on the amount of drugs being used in the United States and has increased the number of people incarcerated on drug charges from just 50,000 to over half a million, but also has helped fuel drug cartels and foment violence and death through overdoses from uncontrolled drug potency and turf wars between street gangs.

To start, a little history behind the drug war. During Nixon’s campaign in 1968 and his presidency thereafter, there were two threats to Nixon at the time. One was the anti-war leftists and the other was black people. The reason is, during the war with Vietnam, the anti-war leftists, or also known as the hippies, would protest often in Washington.

Drugs greatly deepened the willingness and desire to love one another and satisfy oneself. Drug use was very prevalent in the 1960’s and the main reason was the counterculture. Drugs were promoted through many of the admired musical groups whom were the heads of the counterculture revolution. As a result many of their fans got addicted to drug use and influenced society in an altered drug state. The counterculture was founded by personal satisfaction and the main source of satisfaction was drugs. Drugs negatively affected the social revolution because it instilled complacency and a lack of desire to impact society within the members of the movement. Without the drug abuses, society would look much different today and the War on Drugs would not have affected as many people as it has throughout the history of the United

The 1960s in America was a decade filled with controversy and calls for change. During John F. Kennedy’s time as president, an era of protest and rebellion was underway. Race riots, anti-war protests, and an uptick in drug usage plagued the lifestyles of many Americans. Lyndon B. Johnson ascended to presidency as a result of Kennedy’s assassination, and unfortunately inherited these problems. Johnson was successful working with domestic social and economic issues, but the inability to deal with the Vietnam and the political scheme scheme as a whole stained his resume as an effective president.

During the 40's and 50's, drug use was seen as a symbol of counterculture. Jack Kerouac and other important figures of the Beat Generation all

Drug experimentation was normalized in the Hippie culture. Popular drugs were marijuana, ecstasy, and LSD to enhance their emotions and give them a deeper mindfulness. LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide became widely popular because it was believed to have the power to bring people together and restore brotherhood up until 1966 where it was made illegal and pronounced a Schedule 1

In the West, the Sixties saw a rise in recreational drug usage, unlike ever before. Previously, it had been

With the 1950s coming to a close we see a transition and change in how addiction and treatments are seen. Drug culture had been hidden away from view during the 1950s, and only once again came into the view of the American people with the rise of the left counterculture which would seek out new experiences through the use of substances such as marijuana and LSD. Fortunately various doctors and psychologist had been honing their skills and learning new techniques for treatments. Great strides had been taken in reducing the number of addicts and treating those who are addicted through the use of treatments, such as medication and counseling, therapy and detox both at home and in state run institutions.

The 1960’s impacted the United States in profound ways. With the seventy million baby boomers growing into their teens, they brought with them change that is still evolving in our society today. The sixties was a time where American culture moved from being conservative to new and insightful ways of thinking. With these changes, it brought a new counter culture that would be known as the hippie culture. The hippies led way into a new sexual revolution that would break the old fashioned boundaries. The hippies also ushered in a new era where drugs became popular to a large public as well as within their own culture. Drugs were becoming a part of American culture, as well as new scientific research, into the benefits

The 1960s are marked by a plethora of social and political changes, with the counterculture movement being one of the most widely historicized and familiar aspects out of this period. While this movement did contribute positive change in some ways, it was also marked by increased drug usage amongst young people. Due to the inherent danger drugs impose on the individual, concerns were raised throughout the country. In response, President Richard Nixon would move enact legislation hoping to curb drug usage. This initial “war on drugs” was controversial through the first fifteen years and was marked with very little success. With the re-election of our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, public opinion on this “war” would soon change. During his second

Olympic athlete from the 1968 olympics Bill Toomey said, “During the 60’s, drug use was in fashion in the US.” In the 60s and 70s a lot of people in the United States of America did drugs. The two most popular drugs were marijuana and LSD. Drugs were an enormous part of the culture of the 60s and 70s, and some of the drugs they did today are used for medical reasons.

“If you remember the sixties, then you really weren’t there” - Robbin Williams. The 1960’s Hippie Movement, one of the most prevalent topics of the decade, is one of the hardest occurrences to recall for psychedelic drug abusers. As a result of increased counterculture activity, mind-altering drug abuse spiked in popularity over the decade. Formerly a therapeutic drug, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) later affected the mentality of everyday people worldwide. The Hippie Movement of the 1960’s influenced recreational drug use among American teenagers.

Drug crises have regularly taken center stage in American politics and crime control policies beginning with the heroin epidemic of the 1960’s. The main doctrine in the United States drug policy has been “legalism” since the 1980’s. Penalties toward criminals have emphasized the drug policies and deterrence over prevention and treatment as control mechanisms. This in turn causes a pop-up effect, meaning new problems are more likely to arise elsewhere. For example, resources have shifted from the treatment of users who are susceptible for HIV transmission through high-risk sexual activity, to criminal punishments for low-level crack users. The deterrence strategies have not been successful in reducing drug use from the decades of legalistic

The “hippies” of the 1960s had many effects on the American society. The visual appearance and lifestyle of the hippies were in sharp contrast to the conservative nature of the older generation, which defined them as a counterculture. The hippie lifestyle was based on free love, rock music, shared property, and drug experimentation. They introduced a new perspective on drugs, freedom of expression, appearance, music, attitudes toward work, and held a much more liberal political view than mainstream society.

The two most important factors that fueled the movement toward drug regulation in the 20th century were the fact that the abuse of patent medicines and the association of drug use with minority groups. During the 20th- century “patent medicine” treat the ailments for soldiers and for women with female problems. Furthermore, patent medicine in the twentieth century included ingredients such as alcohol, opium, morphine, and cocaine. Moreover, patent medicine was not required by law for registration with agencies or the federal government or list ingredients on labels or bottles. However, patent medicine was those of traveling salesman’s, magicians or culminated with a ‘pitch man” task to convince people to buy his medicine. Originally, morphine