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Addiction Medicine pp 75–93Cite as

Historical Perspectives of Addiction

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Abstract

The past decade has seen increasing interest in the history of addiction. Although historians’ approaches and conclusions have varied, a central theme has been that classification of a substance as licit or illicit has had more to do with cultural values than with the substance itself. Historians of addiction argue that the socioeconomic status of users has influenced attitudes toward addicts and the legal classifications of substances. Implicitly, they have questioned the wisdom of selectively criminalizing drug use. These historical studies have important implications for the treatment and control of addiction. This chapter aims to persuade addiction scientists and practitioners of the utility of these histories of addiction for their own research and practice.

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Acknowledgments

The research and writing of this article were partially supported by a grant from National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, entitled “Current Smokers: A Phenomenological Inquiry” (R01 DA015707–01A2) and a grant from the Engelhard Foundation, “Sophomore Year at Emory Living and Learning Experience: An Interdisciplinary Seminar Course/Internship in Addiction and Depression.” Some of the material in this chapter appeared previously in Howard I. Kushner, “Taking Biology Seriously: The Next Task for Historians of Addiction?” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 80 (Spring 2006): 115–143. I thank Carol R. Kushner and Robert Cormier for editorial assistance.

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  1. Department of Behavioral Sciences & Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, and Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Howard I. Kushner

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Correspondence to Howard I. Kushner .

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  1. , Depts Psychiat & Neurobehav Sciences, Me, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22908, Virginia, USA

    Bankole A. Johnson

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Kushner, H.I. (2010). Historical Perspectives of Addiction. In: Johnson, B. (eds) Addiction Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0338-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0338-9_4

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