The Naked Truth About Drugs

Only available in English.

Williams takes you through America's long history with drugs until our present dilemma, all with the unique perspective of his personal drug experiences. Once opium, morphine, cocaine and even heroin were legal. They were available from the Sears & Roebuck Co. mail order catalogue.

Druggists and grocery stores sold them too. They were popular medicines taken for everything from relieving menstrual cramps to curing hay fever. There was a social component as well. Laudanum and opium and wine drink, was listed in the estate inventory of John Hancock, the man who signed the Declaration of Independence with such a flourish.

Thomas Edison enjoyed an cocaine and wine tonic labeled Vin Mariani, and grave glowing testimonials to its rejuvenating properties. So did Popes and Kings and Queens. And it is not a urban myth that the world's most popular soft drink once contained cocaine.