Patent Medicine Pharmaceutical Industry Consumption of Cocaine Discussion

Discussion Questions (choose one):

1. What role did pharmaceutical companies and patent medicine producers play in expanding the consumption of opiates and cocaine? According to Spillane, what innovations did Parke, Davis introduce to the pharmaceutical industry, and how did medical research help the company sell drugs? How did their innovations blur popular distinctions between patent medicine makers and “ethical drug manufacturers”?
2. For what uses was cocaine marketed? What kinds of consumer goods contained cocaine and coca leaf? How does Spillane account for the commercial success of Coca-Cola as opposed to coca drinks made by other patent medicine companies? What does Joseph Spillane think about the idea that companies put cocaine in their products in order to hook consumers?
3. What does Spillane think about the notion that the U.S. was a “dope fiend’s paradise” before passage of the federal Harrison Narcotics Act in 1914? What methods did city police use to target “cocaine fiends” in the absence of laws against cocaine possession? How does Spillane characterize the relationship between cocaine use and crime in the early twentieth century?
4. How did the social complexion of opiate and cocaine users change between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century? How do Courtwright and Spillane describe the two subsets of drug users? And what influence did this demographic shift have on public perceptions of drugs, drug users, and drug habits?