Top 10 Drugs That Used To Be Legal

Many things which you liked in your childhood may not be of any more interest to you. A lot of things which you used to do as a young kid may not arouse your interest as a mature professional. This is how the life goes on guys and continuous change is the feature of life. In a similar manner, today I am going to tell you some of the drugs which used to be legal and even highly recommended by health professionals but are illegal nowadays and are subject to serious fine and penalty. In different jurisdictions, there are different fines and penalties depending upon the legislation of that particular area and along with this, health professionals now stringently prohibit the use of such drugs and term them as a menace for humans.

Let us see top 10 drugs that used to be legal in the past.

 

10. Opium

It is a form of dried juice from opium poppy and it was very popular in the United States in the 19th century. Opium was considered a good remedial medicine in treating menstrual cramps of women and teething pain of infants. In 1875 and 1907, opium was banned in San Francisco and California respectively. The 1914 Harrison Narcotics Tax Act effectively outlawed the drug throughout America.

 

9. Marijuana

The psychoactive drug marijuana is derived from the cannabis plant and its use was allowed in America until the early twentieth century. In 1619, however, Virginia law demanded from the farmers that native hemp be grown on their plantations and not doing so was equal to abusing the law. But later on, laws passed in 1950’s introduced mandatory sentencing for anyone found in possession of marijuana and they justified it by saying that marijuana was a ‘gateway drug’ into heavier narcotics.

 

8. Methamphetamine

In 1893, a Japanese chemist created this and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the US in 1944. According to the Administration, it could treat different medical conditions including narcolepsy, alcoholism, mild depression, and even seasonal allergies. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act was passed and it strictly prohibited the use of Methamphetamine.

 

7. Peyote

Peyote cactus is the source of a hallucinogenic chemical called Mescaline. Despite of the fact, that this drug has been in use by the Native Americans in their religious ceremonies, it has been outlawed in several US states in the 1920s and 30s. in 1970, Mescaline was restricted by Congress under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.

 

6. Cocaine

It is derived from the coca plant and is advised by the doctors to treat depression and morphine addiction. It was used for the treatment of coughs and pain in America and you will be appalled to learn that it was included in the early versions of the world-known famous brand Coca-Cola. In 1914, it was restricted by the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act and was listed a controlled substance in 1970.

 

5. LSD

A Swiss chemist invented this drug and its psychedelic effects of LSD, or ‘acid’, were discovered by accident in 1943, when the chemist absorbed some (LSD) through his skin. The US army and CIA researched the potential use of this drug as a brainwashing substance and later some of the psychiatrists also became interested in its potential therapeutic benefits. In 1966, owing to the illicit use of this drug, it was outlawed in California and later in 1970, it was listed by Congress as a Schedule I substance, which implies that it has no medicinal or therapeutic uses.

 

4. GHB

Nowadays, it is famous as a ‘date rape’ and was synthesized in the lab in 1960s. it was used as an anesthetic and also gained popularity among the bodybuilders community as a legal sleep aid. GHB is actually a naturally-occurring neurochemical that produces a depressant, pain-relieving effect. When wrong use of this drug started and people abused GHB drug, concerns were raised by FDA and it came down hard on the people involved in doing so. It became a Schedule 1 drug in 2000.

 

3. Magic Mushrooms

They are also known as shrooms and contain a substance psilocybin that produces an LSD-like effect in users. Magic mushrooms have been used as millennia and were promoted by psychologist Timothy Leary for psychological use in 1960s. Possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms was outlawed in 1968.

 

2. Ecstasy

It is also known as MDMA and it was claimed by Shuglin, a Berkeley professor who popularized it for use in psychotherapy, that by using ecstasy psychiatric patients could achieve greater introspection and more openness with their therapists. Notwithstanding, in 1985 it became a Schedule I controlled drug and was put under an ‘emergency ban’.

 

1. Heroin

It was first created as a non-addictive alternative to morphine and was first synthesized in 1874. In the early 20th century, it was marketed in USA as an effective remedy for coughs sore throats. It was deplorable, that this drug turned out to be more addictive than morphine even and this research reversed the perception of Heroine in people mind. It was severely restricted in the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914, and outlawed altogether in 1924.