Well i know this has been discussed a little bit before But i read this at the Hive and figured i would post it here. Sorry it is so late but u can still catch the rest of the week
World Premiere!
Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way:
These are the drugs to which we were supposed to just say "no." Many of them were originally used for medicinal purposes or created by scientists to help ward off pain or other ills. How did these drugs become illegal substances and what affect do they have on their users? Watch this four-part series and find out!
� Airs Monday-Thursday, October 9-12 at 9pm ET/PT
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Monday, October 9
Marijuana
In a series tracing the history of drug use, we begin our trip tracing the rise of marijuana and synthetic amphetamines. Marijuana, from the Indian hemp plant, has been used worldwide as a source of rope, cloth, and paper; its medicinal qualities were first documented 4,000 years ago in China. But it's best-known as the drug of choice of the 1960s. WWII U.S. troops were given an estimated 200 million amphetamines to fight drowsiness and battle fatigue and they're still used to fight depression.
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Tuesday, October 10
Opium, Morphine and Heroin
An examination of the history of the poppy plant and three of its deadliest derivatives. In ancient times, the poppy was considered divine, but in the 19th and 20th centuries, its addicting and lethal qualities caused unprecendented national outrage, social upheaval, and even sparked two wars. Used by the upper classes as patent medicines, heroin became the bane of society when the working class began to use it. In 1914, Federal law banned heroin and opium, and restricted morphine to medicinal use.
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Wednesday, October 11
Cocaine
Derived from South America's coca leaf, cocaine was touted as a cure-all in the late 19th-century and was the secret ingredient in many medicines and elixirs such as Coca-Cola. But cocaine's allure quickly diminished as racism entered the picture--the concept of the "cocaine-crazed Negro" even led police to
strengthen the caliber of their guns from .32 to .38. We'll see how, though it it was outlawed in 1914, its popularity soared in the 1980s and '90s and gave birth to a deadlier form--crack.
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Thursday , October 12
LSD, Ecstasy and Raves
How did the psychedelic drugs LSD and Ecstasy journey from a scientific discovery to a popular recreation to banned drugs? Mental health professionals once believed that LSD could treat schizophrenia or alcoholism. Meanwhile, Ecstasy, the "penicillin for the soul", was used in marriage counseling. Now, continuing the cycle of the hallucinogen, some of the latest derivatives in this category of drugs, the "rave" drugs such as GHB and Ketamine, are about to be banned.
Clean.
2000-10-11, 11:19
The Histroy Channel
