ABSTRACT
If we arbitrarily designate the beginning of modern drug development to coincide with the synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid, then mankind has only been exposed to modern medicine for a century. During this period, a number of wonderful drugs have been developed. Most notably, perhaps, are the antibiotics during the 1930s and 1940s, and psychotropic agents during the 1950s. Antibiotics could actually cure certain infections. While the introduction of psychotropic drugs did not cure mental illness, their impact on mental health is almost incalculable. They permitted an end to institutionalization for tens of thousands of patients with the attendant reduction in hospital costs and a resumption of more normalcy of life; a legacy that remains today. Despite these successes, 80% of the world’s population still uses herbs, according to the World Health Organization.
