Alternate Drugs
- Thread starter NKVD
- Start date
Dont forget that the chemical industry is far more immature in, say, 1920 than 1930, 1940, etc.
So there are very strong limits on what you can synthesize.
So there are very strong limits on what you can synthesize.
ComradeHuxley
Donor
One potentially interesting drug could be GHB. The first sucessful synthesis of the chemical was reported as early as 1874 by Alexander Zaytsev, Have someone discover it by accident like Hofmann did with LSD in OTL. Its is apparently ridiciously easy if you believe wikipedia. So one of the concerns raised here, the difficutly of production, shouldn't be a problem.
According to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report: "Drug classification: making a hash of it?"
it is also not particualy addictive compared to other drugs. For all these reasons I chose it as an infulantial drug in my own timeline.
According to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report: "Drug classification: making a hash of it?"
it is also not particualy addictive compared to other drugs. For all these reasons I chose it as an infulantial drug in my own timeline.
Simply you need drugs never to be illegal.
Salvia is still legal, and it gets people really high, but it is not "cool" because of its legality.
Cocaine used to be legal, but it was a "medicine" and so its abuse took a different form.
Simply, people would be going with the most enjoyable feeling drugs and most heavily addictive.
Salvia is still legal, and it gets people really high, but it is not "cool" because of its legality.
Cocaine used to be legal, but it was a "medicine" and so its abuse took a different form.
Simply, people would be going with the most enjoyable feeling drugs and most heavily addictive.
'never to be illegal' is interesting given that many drugs of abuse are in fact completely legallto possess assuming you have either a prescription or a occupational entitlement to possess
Opiates, Benzos, Barbiturates, Amphet are all legal and have legit clinical uses, possession is just restricted to those who have suitable authorisation , whether that's by being a Health professional or by holding a prescription or retail/ wholesale Pharmacy licence ...
this is something the ' legalisers ' usually forget in their freewibbler on the land on substances haze ...
Opiates, Benzos, Barbiturates, Amphet are all legal and have legit clinical uses, possession is just restricted to those who have suitable authorisation , whether that's by being a Health professional or by holding a prescription or retail/ wholesale Pharmacy licence ...
this is something the ' legalisers ' usually forget in their freewibbler on the land on substances haze ...
Well, it is important to note that I never said there would be less drug abuse. Rather, keeping everything legal (as it was in the early 20th century) will change the buying behavior of future addicts and addicts alike. Ultimately, buying behavior is what determines the market. I don't think many of these drugs are really compelling in of themselves. For example, heroin is making a major comeback where I live. It's been around for decades, why is the demand only growing now?
Whereas illegal drugs pretty much fade into obscurity?
Speaking for myself, anti-prohibition, I only say that legalising will lead to better outcomes for those who have a problem with drugs (being addicted to drugs is bad for you, being in prison for five years is bad for you, both are far worse than either by itself), not that it would result in any change in the number of users or abusers (though I would predict that softer drugs would be used relatively more, since harder drugs are easier to make a profit on during prohibition).
That is, the abuse will happen no matter what, adding prohibition to the mix just means that becoming an addict is more likely to ruin your whole life, rather than just cost you a few years.
Once you create a system where possession of certain classes of medications requires a prescription and that prescription be based on a clinical need - it makes drugs of misuse inherently illegal
Unless you hasve a fundamentally different attitude to medication legislation and food and drug safety you create a situation where there will be illegal use of legitmate medications.
ComradeHuxley
Donor
Well there is a huge difference between chemicals that were synthesized and knowing their potential usefulness as drugs.
Here is a rough outline I came up with for an alternate take on drugs:
As mentioned before one potentially interesting drug was GHB. It was indeed first successful synthesized in 1874 by Alexander Zaytsev (Professor at the Kazan University) but that doesn't mean that an Hofmann like accident can't happen much later. Say it happens in 1900. For some experiment Zaytsev makes some GHB again an discoveres its positive properties. Happy to have found something to give him some relief from the downsides of old age, he continues experiment with the drug. Word about these activities reaches the former head of the Kazan Psychiatry Department Vladimir Bekhterev. He experiments with GHB as alcohol addiction treatment and finds to his surprise that it not only works fairly well but is also a powerful anti-depressant. The first of its kind to be precise. Thus an early kickstarts of psycho and -neurpharmacology as well as psychiatric medication.
The next opportunity would be MDMA. MDMA was first synthesized in 1912 by Merk chemist Anton Köllisch. At the time, Merck was interested in developing substances that stopped abnormal bleeding. MDMA itself was a intermediary product but its medical properties were studied in OTL 1927. Lets say that Köllisch investigates MDMA, just to be sure there is no opportunity missed. He finds that it has similar properties to GHB also still not quiet the same. This could get Georg Honigmann involved who established a nerve clinic in 1913 treating among other things (mostly work related) PTSD. As it happens MDMA seems to be quiet helpful with treating just that.
Now you have German veterans taking MDMA (ecstasy) and a well known and the simple to make synthetic drug GHB during prohibition in the USA. I think both should be able to make a difference, one way or another.