Speaking of patent medicines of the late nineteenth century -

Under the name of Celerina, 42% alcohol (and 58% water and other  
nostrums) was prominently advertised by Rio Chemical for prescription  
to inebriates in the Quarterly Journal of Inebriety for many years in  
the late nineteenth century.  Headlines for Celerina read "After the  
Removal of Alcohol".  It seems the medical folks of the time were  
either schizoid about alcohol, or simple quacks.  T. D. Crothers, the  
editor of the journal, who obviously knew what Celerina was,  
ironically was the prime antagonist of another quack doctor - Leslie  
Keeley, who had his own secret formula to cure alcoholism.  In 1917  
Celerina was advertised as "may be prescribed without the Special  
Harrison Narcotic Law Prescription Blank".

I've imagined that another interesting analysis of good and bad  
'drugs' in a given nation's course of history could be described in  
relation to certain of their commemorative postage stamps. Some  
stamps depict evil in relation to certain drugs, and others glorify  
pharmaceuticals and various accepted alcoholic concoctions such as  
wines.

Dave Trippel

On May 14, 2011, at 1:27 PM, Greg Marquis wrote:

> Hello:
>
> Really interesting postings going on. I happen to be looking at  
> alcohol advertisements in American and Canadian newspapers in the  
> late 1800s and early 1900s and as many will know, manufacturers,  
> especially of whisky, gin and beer, promoted their products as not  
> only healthy and but medically necessary- although they tended not  
> to use the term 'drug.' 'Drugs' were what the other guys were selling.
>
> Many patent medicines were advertised as being devoid of alcohol,  
> opium and other 'harmful drugs.'
>
> Greg Marquis
> Professor
> Department of History and Politics
> UNB Saint John, P.O. Box 5050
> Saint John, NB, E2L 4L5
>
> ph: 506 648-5600
>
> website: Crime and Punishment in New Brunswick:
> http://www.unbsj.ca/arts/hist/gregmarquis/cph/