“People think its cool cause it’s our law. Think they rebel without a cause. We gotta help the sick and the addicted, but were killin’ ourselves with the new prohibition. Our government’s try to tell you what to do; decide for yourself what’s right for you. If ya go too far and ya get outta hand, then ya take a little trip down to prison land!” From “Legalize it” written by Mojo Nixon.

We’ve been spending the past several weeks talking about comic books, so I thought this week I’d lighten the tone a bit and talk about heroin addiction.

To be fair, heroin use has been a significant part of our popular culture. Aside from state and local laws, including those that only tangentially affected heroin users, the federal Anti-Heroin Act prohibiting the possession of opium wasn’t passed until 1924. Opium, organic and synthetic, is the alluring ingredient in heroin as well as such substances as methadone, codeine, oxycodone and naloxone. This act amended the Smoking Opium Exclusion Act of 1909 which authorized the importation of the opium-producing poppy plant for medicinal use.

Back in the 19th century, the civilized world was held in thrall by opium and its relations — to the point where Bayer Pharmaceuticals created a safer form of opium in 1898 they named “heroin.” They sold it as a cure for opium addition, alcoholism and for coughs, and they claimed it was more effective than morphine and free from abuse potential. Turns out they were mistaken about that last point. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Our Favorite Nepojunkie” →