ABSTRACT
The origins of drug use surely depended upon the chance discovery that certain plants produced psychoactive effects. This happened so long ago that it remains a matter for the imagination. Ever since those prehistoric days, drug use has acquired a variety of social meanings. Over time, science and social organization interact to change the meaning of drug use in society. Ghodse (1989) illustrates this using coffee as an example. Coffee was known to the Arabs in the sixth century, and used then for its medicinal properties. Coffee-drinking became widespread in the fourteenth century with advent of the technique of roasting and grinding coffee beans. In the Arab world, where alcohol was banned by the Koran, coffee-drinking took on something of the social meaning that alcohol has today in the West; coffee houses were social meeting places. The authorities, however, came to fear that coffee houses were centres of political dissent and social unrest, and moves were made to ban coffee. When prohibition failed, coffee was taxed heavily, providing a source of considerable revenue for the authorities. Coffee drinking spread to Britain in the seventeenth century, to be met with a similar response. Again, coffee houses were seen as centres of political insurrection, and moves were made to close them down. By the end of the eighteenth century, coffee houses began to wane in popularity, and tea became the national drink. Although tea also contains some caffeine, this drink has never acquired the same association with political activism.
