The Rise and Fall and Rise of Cocaine in the United States

Cocaine epidemics have twice figured in American history. The first sustained episode of cocaine use and addiction began in the 1880s and lasted into the 1920s. The second began about 1970 and peaked in the late 1980s. Together the two epidemics illustrate a cardinal principle of drug history: what we think about and how we regulate ‘consuming habits’ depends very much upon the characteristics of those who consume them.