Drug Facts
Heroin Overview
Much of what is discussed under Prescription Opiates applies to heroin and vice-versa. SmartDrugPolicy will dedicate itself substantially to the heroin and prescription opiate crisis, so look forward to more coverage on the topic. To understand where we are with...
Opium Addiction in 19th Century China
Centuries before the British Empire began its foray into India and China, a small percentage of Chinese (mainly the elite) ate or smoked opium either as an aphrodisiac or to cure dysentery. As the British appetite for Chinese goods grew...
Marijuana Overview
Ask someone today what they think about drug policy in the U.S. and you will likely hear something about the legalization movement for marijuana, which has taken center stage in the drug reform debate. Seven states and the District of...
Legal Cocaine, Again?
Unlike heroin users who will not respond to changes in the price of the drug, cocaine users will consume less as the price increases. This has led some legalization proponents to follow the logic applied to marijuana, suggesting that cocaine...
From Civil War Morphine to Nixon’s Drug War
As the medical community began to realize the highly addictive nature of morphine in the early 20th century, serious efforts began to find a less addictive alternative. Unfortunately, what was discovered was more potent and addictive. Diacetylmorphine, or heroin, was...
U.S. Civil War Morphine Addiction
A century before China reached its peak opium addiction, in 1803 the German scientist, Friedrich Wilhelm Sertüner, discovered a better pain reliever by extracting opium’s first alkaloid. Called morphine, after the Greek god Morpheus who induced a dreamy sleepy state,...