Cannabis use in Nigeria and worldwide is a complex and multifaceted issue. Referred to as igbo*, ganja, weed, marijuana, and several other monikers, Cannabis has garnered a contentious reputation in Nigeria. While cannabis use is illegal in Nigeria, it is consumed by many young people and openly celebrated by its users. Since the early 1990s, Nigerian movies and popular music have been dominated by portrayals of cannabis consumption. A similar story has played out in the United States. Until recently, cannabis use was illegal in most states, but cannabis remained one of the most consumed and c ..read more

In 1829, at a meeting of the Westminster Medical Society, a group of physicians wondered why the ‘East India Opium’ was being overlooked in favour of the opium from Turkey, particularly when the efficacy and purity of the former and the quantity of morphia that it yielded had been extremely positive from the results of its analysis by medical institutions and practitioners. Opium from Smyrna (present day Izmir, Western Turkey) and Constantinople (present day Istanbul), dominated the world market for raw opium then, and there was much concern among a section of intellectuals on the need to end ..read more

In 2011, information scientist Larry Smarr described his 10-year effort to “increasingly quantify my body.” Smarr brings serious skills to the task. Based for many years at UC-San Diego, he’s a long-time top-tier performer in deep realms of computer science.   Smarr has had periodic MRIs, regular blood work, and colonoscopies far more often than the national average. He has tallied what he eats and drinks and the calories he has burned. He has had his DNA sequenced. He has produced, and shown to his colleagues, 3-D images of his innards. It paid off when he figured out that he had Crohn’s ..read more

Today’s post features an interview with Mariana Reynoso, a Mexico-based pharmaceutical historian and Gabriel Gonzalez-Bravo, a Mexico-based chemistry researcher. These scholars focus on the history of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences in Mexico. Mariana and Gabriel recently authored ‘Johann Wilhelm Schaffner, Leopoldo Rio de la Loza, and elemental analysis in Mexico’ in the recently-published issue of the History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals. Find out more about their backgrounds, article and future research plans in this interview. Please tell readers a little bit about yourself ..read more

Yale’s SU x COVID Data Collaborative’s Policy Working Group is hosting activists who use drugs and harm reduction researchers to discuss drug policy reformation, structural inequities in drug treatment and harm reduction systems, deconstruction of the disease model of addiction, and alternate ways to think about drug use in a multi-part series, Confronting the Drug War: Drug-User Oriented Harm Reduction and Drug Policy. This month, the collaborative invites you to join Nancy Campbell, Sterling Johnson, Anne Kveim Lie, and Nicole Luongo as they deconstruct the brain disease model of addiction u ..read more

Figure 1: An ad for a film titled “Marihuana.” (National Library of Medicine) The representation of cannabis (also known as marijuana, marihuana, pot, or weed) in the media has evolved over time. In the past, media coverage of cannabis primarily focused on its potential harms and association with criminal activity, pervasion, and addiction. From 1980 to the early 1990s, news stories about drug busts and the dangers of smoking cannabis dominated headlines, while print media, movies, and TV shows depicted cannabis users as dangerous. In popular culture, smoking cannabis was considered a forbidde ..read more

In the early hours of the morning of 1st July 1937, Gerald Edward Mary O’Brien was detained by police officers on the ferry returning from Dieppe. He had crossed the channel with six grammes of high-quality heroin concealed about his person. It was the last of what had been a regular series of trips to Paris from his home in London, and he had sourced the heroin from two young Americans living in a hotel in the Pigalle, which was the entertainment and ‘vice’ district of the French capital.[1]  The transaction was a small part of a broader global network overseen by Corsican and Sicilian o ..read more

When I think about the term “miscarriage of justice,” I think about the obvious ones. A defendant is convicted of a crime that they didn’t actually commit, a police officer uses excessive force, official incompetence allows someone who has committed a crime to walk away from legal consequences, “on a technicality.” Less obvious but also significant is the role of undue influence and corruption as individuals with money and power who commit crimes frequently overwhelm the criminal justice system or avoid consequences altogether. All of these had me on my guard as I became a selected juror for ..read more

The Netherlands’ Nationaal Farmaceutisch Museum has launched their virtual exhibition on the history of opium and opiates curated by digital archivist Rimke van der Bij in partnership with experienced academics in the histories of drugs and pharmaceuticals, Toine Pieters and Stephen Snelders. The exhibition centres around three core themes: opium as a trading good; opium and opiates between medical and non-medical use; and, the use of opium and opiates in images and texts. These themes are explored through interactive digital exhibits that showcase exquisite photos alongside rich stories. For ..read more

A careful examination of the epigraphic and literary sources, including accounts left by early European travellers to Assam like Tavernier, Bernier, Manucci and Glanius, speak of Assam as a very fertile country with trading links across Burma into China. Marketable commodities were exported not only to the neighbouring provinces but also to adjacent countries; Burma, Tibet, China- by the mountain passes, land and water routes. Indeed, it was the lucrative trade with Tibet and China passing through Assam that was a vital factor in efforts of the Turko-Afghan kings and the Tai-Shans to capture ..read more