The Post-Civil War Opioid Crisis
Many servicemen became addicted to opioids prescribed during the war. Society viewed their dependency as a lack of manliness.
Opium’s History in China
Opium has been used as a medicinal and recreational substance in China for centuries, its shifting meanings tied to class and national identity.
The Story Behind “This is Your Brain on Drugs”
How did the campaign behind the Partnership for a Drug Free America’s iconic commercials develop, and why were its products so memorable?
The RAF on Speed: High-Flying or Flying High?
Drug use during World War II, especially by Nazis, was typically viewed as immoral. But what about when it was approved by leaders of the Royal Air Force?
That Time Jean-Paul Sartre Got High on Mescaline
The French existentialist got more than he bargained for when he went in search of drug-induced inspiration for his philosophical writings.
On Drugs and Harm Reduction with Maia Szalavitz
Author of Undoing Drugs and NYT columnist Szalavitz talks history, science, media shifts, politics, and how the US might mitigate its overdose crisis.
Terence McKenna’s Anarchic Psychedelic Religion
Terence McKenna was an evangelist for the use of psilocybin and other mind-altering drugs, as a way to transcend and escape “untrammeled rationalism.”
Just Saying No To Valium
Ninety million bottles of Valium were dispensed yearly in the U.S. during the mellow Seventies. What happened?
ADHD: The History of a Diagnosis
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been a controversial diagnosis since it was first described, back in the 1940s.
Where Drug Trafficking and Climate Change Collide
With mounting pressure from cartels and worsening environmental conditions, Mexico’s Indigenous Rarámuri communities face a fraught future.