In this episode of our podcast series History of UK drug use: The 1950s and 1960s we examine the early medical history of the addict as an identity and addiction as a diagnosis. Demonstrating how ideas around degeneration and eugenics were influential in the early development the 'addict'. In doing so, we will also explore the origins of the liberal 'British System' of drug control and why it diverged so heavily from the USA's policy of criminalisation.

An annotated script for this episode can be found here.

A full list of my sources is available here.

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts

Psychedelic research has made quite the resurgence in the last few years. By piecing together archival information and interviews with psychedelic researchers, Danielle Giffort examines this resurgence in the context of psychedelic research's mid-twentieth century demise. Check out my review of Acid Revival for Psymposia here.

In this article for drug and alcohol history blog Points I describe how the 1950s press used cannabis as a tool to promote fears surrounding the Windrush Generation and female independance.

Check it out here

In this episode of our podcast series History of UK drug use: The 1950s and 1960s we examine cannabis in the 1950s. The episode covers how cannabis came to be illegal in the UK, its presentation in the 1950s popular press and its prosecution by the police. In doing so, it demonstrates how cannabis was used in the press to play up social fears surrounding racial mixing and young female independance. It also illuminates some of the origins of the police using drug laws to harass black communities.

I would like to extend my thanks to writer Marek Kohn for his immensely helpful feedback on a draft of this episode.

An annotated script for this episode can be found here.

A full list of my sources is available here.

This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts

In this episode of our History of UK drug use: The 1950s and 1960s series we cover the thalidomide disaster which resulted in 10,000-15,000 babies to be born with malformed or missing limbs. This is done in the context of the lax rules around pharmaceutical marketing, which we covered last episode, and the relationship between the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry.

A transcript which includes more information is available here

References can be found here

In this field prevention is incomparably more important than cure; for cure merely returns the patient to an environment which begets mental illness. But how is prevention to be achieved? That is the sixty-four-billion-dollar question.

I wrote an article for Psymposia, a media organization that uses adversarial journalism to shine a light on the complex connections between drugs and society. It explores Aldous Huxley's thoughts on scientific and technological progress and drug use.

Check it out here.

In this episode of our History of UK drug use: The 1950s and 1960s series we will discuss drug advertising in the 50s and early 60s. The pharmaceutical boom of the 1950s was accompanied by a marketing boom and this episode will demonstrate the tactics drug companies used to push doctors to prescribe drugs; many of which were unneeded. We will also take a look at political reactions to the issue.

A full transcript of this episode can be found here.

And references can be found here

The podcast can be also be found on Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of our History of UK drug use: The 1950s and 1960s series I will present some of the origins of the Psychopharmacological Revolution and the drug taking boom that accompanied it. We will also examine the reactions of the medical profession to it, as their societal role increasingly revolved around prescribing drugs.

A full list of references for this episode can be found here.

A transcript for the episode is available here

The podcast can be also be found on Apple Podcasts

In this short episode I introduce the series. It includes an overview of what the series will cover and its relevance to our situation today. You can also read about the series in the about the podcast section

The podcast can be also be found on Apple Podcasts