PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY (Drugs & Psychology) BPS302

WHAT YOU MAY DO IN THIS COURSE

Extract From the Course –

Amphetamine

Amphetamine was first synthesised in 1887. It became popular in the 1920s in medical communities as a way of raising blood pressure, stimulating the nervous system and enlarging nasal passages. The abuse of the drug began in the 1930s. It was marketed as Benzedrine and sold as an inhaler over the counter. During World War II, amphetamines were distributed to soldiers as a way to combat fatigue and improve endurance and mood. After the way, amphetamines were prescribed by doctors for depression. The legal use of amphetamine increased at the same time as the black market emerged.

During the 1950s, the practice of injecting amphetamines occurred, but did not spread until the 1960s. In 1962 in America, there was a crackdown on San Francisco pharmacies who were selling injectable amphetamines. This drew attention to the national problem of amphetamine “mainlining”, and led to the emergence of underground “speed labs”. Amphetamine used began to decline in the 1970s, due to the increased awareness of the public of its dangers. In the 1990s, crystal methamphetamine became popular. It was a smokeable form of the drug and was commonly referred to as “ice.”

Cocaine

Cocaine is derived from the coca plant. Cocaine has been used for thousands of years by certain tribes in the South American Andes. Pure cocaine was isolated in the mid-nineteenth century, but its effects weren’t recognized in the medical world until the 1880s.

In 1883, Dr. Theodor Aschenbrandt, a German army physician, prescribed cocaine to soldiers in Bavaria during training to help reduce tiredness and fatigue. In 1884, Sigmund Freud published Uber Cola a hymn praising the drug. In 1886, John Pemberton of Atlanta, America, began to market coca-cola, syrup from the coca leaves and African kola nuts. The same year, the Surgeon-General of the US Army endorsed the medical use of cocaine. Medical tonics were sold in the early 1900s including cocaine and opium.

By 1902, it was estimated that there were 200,000 cocaine addicts in America alone. Hundreds of early Hollywood films depicted scenes of drug trafficking and drug use.

In 1914, cocaine was outlawed in America and its usage declined in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. However, the 1970s saw it increase in popularity as a recreational drug. It was proclaimed as non-addictive and viewed as harmless, until 1985 when crack emerged. In 1982, there were 10.4 millions users of cocaine in America alone.

Crack

Crack cocaine is a form of cocaine made by cooking cocaine powder, baking soda and water until it forms a solid that can be broken down and sold as individual “rocks”. It first appeared around 1985. Cocaine was expensive to purchase, but crack could be bought at affordable prices and became prevalent in poorer areas. In 1986 and 1988 America introduced mandatory sentencing laws for the possession and trafficking of crack cocaine as it was seen as a more serious problem than powder cocaine.

Opium and Heroin

Opiates were popular throughout the nineteenth century, particularly among women. Tonics containing opium were available from pharmacists and doctors prescribed them for upper and middle class women with “women’s problems”. In the 1850s and 60s, Chinese labourers working on America railroads, brought with them the practice of smoking opium. This was banned in 1975, but opium dens were commonplace throughout America by the turn of century.

In 1803, Friedrich Sertuerner synthesised morphine and the invention of the hypodermic needle in the mid-nineteenth century led to the use of injectable morphine as a pain reliever in the American Civil War. This led to the first wave of morphine addiction.

In 1896, Heinrich Dreser of the Bayer Company synthesised heroin. Bayer began to market the drug. In the early 1900s, heroin was seen as a solution to the increased problem of morphine addiction and the St. James Society sent free samples of heroin to morphine addicts. Heroin addiction began to grow. Research in 1971 estimated that 10 – 15% of US servicemen in Vietnam were addicted. This statistic and the growing use of heroin led to the making of heroin use a crime.

In the 1980s and 90s, street heroin was smoked and snorted and its usage increased.

If you are interested in psychopharmacology, you may also find our Biopsychology courses of interest.

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