The Historical Shift in the Perception of Opiates: From Medicine to Social Menace

Keywords

Chinese, history, legislation, opiates, opium, public policy

Abstract

An examination of the origins of the laws prohibiting the use of opiates in the United States is provided. The primary focus is on how the development of these laws influenced a marked shift in the perception of opiates. Historically, opium and its derivatives have been perceived as efficacious medicines. However, during the past two centuries this perception has shifted to the point that contemporarily the opiates are commonly thought of as a social menace. This perception now outweighs the efficacious medicine perception to a substantial degree. A historical analysis indicates that this shift occurred not so much because the hazardous potential for addiction and overdose was discovered, nor because recreational use became widespread; rather, this shift was greatly influenced by underlying national economic conditions and concerns.

Original Publication Citation

Hoffmann, John P. 1990. “The Historical Shift in the Perception of Opiates: From Medicine to Social Menace.” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 22(1): 53-62.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2012-01-12

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6725

Publisher

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

Language

english

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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