Selected Papers of William L. White www.williamwhitepapers.com Collected papers, interviews, video presentations, photos, and archival documents on the history of addiction treatment and recovery in America. Citation: White, W. (2014). Patent Medicine and Addiction in America. Posted at www.williamwhitepaeprs.com. Patent Medicine and Addiction in America William L. White Emeritus Senior Research Consultant Chestnut Health Systems
[email protected] NOTE: The original 1,000+ page manuscript for Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America had to be cut by more than half before its first publication in 1998. This is an edited excerpt that was deleted from the original manuscript. During the 19th and early 20th most widely distributed to American centuries, both the traditional medical field consumers. and the patent medicine industry provided The story of patent medicines begins drugs with high addiction potential to early in American history. English patent medicate a wide variety of physical and medicines were imported into the colonies psychological discomforts. America’s legal regularly until the time of the Revolutionary drugs came from two institutional sources. War. Some English colonists arrived with The first, referred to as the “ethical” drug patents for particular medicines issued by companies, have traditionally manufactured, the King of England (Gilbert, 1989). These advertised, and distributed medicinal drugs patents allowed the holders, and no one only to doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies. else, to manufacture and sell particular As prescription laws became the rule, the medicines. The term “patent” comes from ethical companies were the primary sources the Latin word patere, meaning “to be open.” of prescription drugs in the United States.