From Patients to Criminals: History Of Opium EP 5

By the end of the nineteenth century, “addiction cures” were everywhere.  Many people had become addicts at the hand of their own doctors, but The Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914 was poised to reclassify this hapless population as criminals.  During this time, social and political activists called Muckrakers galvanized to expose the fraudulent practices of patent medicine companies.  Drug historian and The Age of Addiction author Dr. David Courtwright is this week’s expert.   This episode is sponsored by True Recovery.