When Heroin was Legal
Steven L. Taylor
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Tuesday, January 4, 2011
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3 comments
In preparing the syllabus for my graduate seminar on the drug war, I came across the following from the BBC: When heroin was legal. It seemed worth posting given the comment thread in my post from the other day (War on Drugs Reconsidered).

About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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But… But… I thought only the Taliban and Mexican Cartels made Heroin!
Bayer brand. Classic.
I bet it really helped headaches.
My wife’s grandmother–incidentally, wife of the Commandant of the USMC–was a life-long heroin addict. She became addicted back when it was legal and continued with her MDs supplying her habit until she died at age 87 in the early 1960s. She was fully functional–though a bit of a hypocondriac–for some 60 years, with a heavy social schedule, typical for the wives of senior military officers in the 30s & 40s.
A habit, plus a reliable supply doesn’t lead to serious problems, usually.