Category:
Drugs

The Judge who wanted to be fully informed

Nov 1976: Roxbury District Court Judge Elwood McKenney, presiding over a cocaine possession case, announced that he would need to try cocaine himself before he made his ruling... in order to be able to make an informed decision. He recessed the trial until he had done so.

Palo Alto Times - Nov 2, 1976



Judge Elwood McKenney



About a month later, McKenney abandoned his decision to try cocaine, saying that all the publicity about it had distorted his intent.

But he then proceeded to rule that the Massachusetts statutes forbidding the possession of cocaine were unconstitutional.

Obviously his ruling must have been dismissed or overturned at some point, otherwise cocaine would now be legal in Massachusetts. But I haven't been able to figure out when that happened.



Boston Globe - Dec 11, 1976

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 18, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Drugs, Law, Judges, 1970s

Follies of the Madmen #583

In 1969, everything had to relate to drugs.

Source.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 05, 2023 - Comments (0)
Category: Drugs, Food, Advertising, 1960s

Cocoaine for the hair

I'm sure cocaine would soothe an irritated scalp, but I can't imagine why it would cure dandruff.

Munsey's Magazine - 1898

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 30, 2023 - Comments (2)
Category: Drugs, Nineteenth Century, Hair and Hairstyling

The Jackson Illusion Pepper

The 1960's fad for smoking banana peels is well known. Less well known is a similar late-60s drug fad called the "Jackson Illusion Pepper." An explanation from Drugs From A to Z: A Dictionary by Richard R. Lingeman (1969):



More info from The East Village Other (Apr 1-15, 1967):

Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 22, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco, 1960s

Merck satisfies your growing appetite for MSG

A full plate of MSG, but you already need more... MORE!

Never fear, "You can depend on Merck for unlimited quantities of MSG." In Crystal or Fine Crystal form.

Food Technology - Sep 1958

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 06, 2023 - Comments (1)
Category: Drugs, Food, Advertising, 1950s

The Hog Farm



Their Wikipedia page.

Source of article below: Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York) 10 Dec 1968, Tue Page 10




Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 25, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Drugs, Communes, Utopias, and Other Alternative Societies, Documentaries, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s

One Step Beyond:  The Sacred Mushroom



Here is the Wikipedia page for the show, which has a section on this episode.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 04, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Drugs, Psychedelic, Science, Television, 1960s, Natural Wonders

Sugar sweetens dispositions

Betty is cranky. Give her some sugar "and watch her bounce back—fast."

That is, until the sugar high wears off and the crankiness returns worse than ever.

Ladies Home Journal - Jan 1966

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 27, 2022 - Comments (5)
Category: Drugs, Advertising, 1960s

Sergeant Sunshine



Scott French, The Complete Guide to the Street Drug Game (1976):

One of the heroes of the Hashbury days was Sergeant Sunshine, a San Francisco cop who became upset at a system where you could easily buy a gun but get arrested for smoking a harmless vegetable. On April 14, 1968, Sgt. Richard Bergess demonstrated his feelings by lighting up a joint on the courthouse steps. Hippies threw a carpet of flowers before the cop, who was promptly arrested by agents in the crowd. Needless to say, this was Sgt. Bergess' last day with the San Francisco police.

He served six months in jail, and subsequently became a plumber.

Posted By: Alex - Sun May 22, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco, Police and Other Law Enforcement, 1960s

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Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.

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