Cocaine?

[diana]

I'm not very knowledgeable about this but by 1888 cocaine had been isolated from the coca leaf and was being marketed. Witness the references in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Jack seemed to be frenzied in what he did. My first thought is PCP but that wasn't around then. Could cocaine be a part of the picture here? I don't know enough about the symptoms of cocaine intoxication to say.

[Mitch Rowe]

Perhaps Sherlock Holmes was the Culprit? I suspect the Gin was enough to cause all sorts of delusions after drinking it heavily day after day. If thats what Jack was doing. I have no idea about any drug use back then but personally I doubt it played a part. At least not as much as the alcohol did.

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

Well, a person called Edgar Allan Poe was an opium addict in the turn of the 1830s-1840s.

Besides, an opium-den on Swandam Lane is mentioned in a Sherlock Holmes -story.

But what are the effects of opium?!

All the best
Jukka

[halomanuk]

Cocaine was around but it was still quite hard to come by so that would have to put Jack into more of an upper-class bracket which i'm definately not convinced he was.

I'm afraid to say that JTR was just plain old fashioned mad.

[GregBaron]

Drugs...

Hi all,

In reality I don't believe any true Sherlock Holmes story mentions cocaine. That came in a modern movie remake called The 7 % Solution (I think?). Also, Poe was not an opium addict. This is a common misconception. It's possible he tried it a few times, he did try a dramatic suicide attempt by ingesting laudanum - an opium alcohol mixture - but immediately threw it up. He was also dirt poor. Pharmacies at this time would have had liquid opium available and possibly liquid cocaine. Don't know anything about Pharmacies in 1888 East London. I tend to agree that alcohol was probably the only thing JTR was ingesting - and it's quite a good stimulant (at least at first) and inhibition reducer.....

Sincerely,

Greg

[c.d.]

Hi all,

In reality I don't believe any true Sherlock Holmes story mentions cocaine. That came in a modern movie remake called The 7 % Solution (I think?). Also, Poe was not an opium addict. This is a common misconception. It's possible he tried it a few times, he did try a dramatic suicide attempt by ingesting laudanum - an opium alcohol mixture - but immediately threw it up. He was also dirt poor. Pharmacies at this time would have had liquid opium available and possibly liquid cocaine. Don't know anything about Pharmacies in 1888 East London. I tend to agree that alcohol was probably the only thing JTR was ingesting - and it's quite a good stimulant (at least at first) and inhibition reducer.....

Sincerely,

Greg

Hi Greg,

"A Study in Scarlett" alludes to Holmes' cocaine habit and it is confirmed in "The Sign of Four."

c.d.

[Jeff Leahy]

I'm not certain if anyone was listening to Radio Four sunday afternoon but there was a play/diary about Scotts quest to make the antarctic.

I had a real double take moment when one of the party starts discuss that its a good job they had a good supply of Cocaine and opium?

I guess it kept them going

To my knowledge such drugs are unlikely to drive a person to such murderous lengths..

That said, if Jack had a mental health problem then other drugs/alcohol/mixtures may have been a contributing factor.

I believe Laurdenum was the most popular drug at the time. (Liquid Opium) as far as I'm aware it does not make you violent, the exact opposite.

So in itself I would say no. But as a contributing factor, to someone with other mental issues, possibly.

The cheapest and most available however would be Beer and Gin.

Theres no way of knowing for sure.

Pirate

[Mike Covell]

Here is an interesting website, http://drugs.uta.edu/drugs.html
It covers drug abuse during the Victorian period, and don't be put off by the name "Victorian's Secret", My wife thought I was looking at ladies underwear!


Chloral http://drugs.uta.edu/chloral.html
Absinthe http://drugs.uta.edu/absinthe.html
Opium http://drugs.uta.edu/opium.html
Hashish http://drugs.uta.edu/hashish.html
Alcohol http://drugs.uta.edu/alcohol.html

If under the influence, and having spent time with people under the influence, I think "Jack" would have made a mistake and being caught.

[GregBaron]

Holmes...

Ok, I'll take your word for it. I think I was referring to the stories rather than Novels but it doesn't much matter. I imagine cocaine would have been available for a price but think it has little to do with the JTR case....

Greg

[Marlowe]

Ergot.

[Leighton Young]

ergot would have bene used as part of an abbortive mixture.. it was used to expell after birth from the womb in conventional medeecine but could also be used to abort a feotus... william gull was known to use this (a letter being found in auction containing a prescription which had this included on it). it is poisonous though and can not be easily abused as it is so easy to overdose on the stuff. it makes you hallucinate and you would totally not be able to plan or execute anything as complicated as these crimes while you were off your face on the stuff..

[halomanuk]

Exactly..

JTR was a cold calculated killer who knew the streets and how to gain the working girls confidence.

Not a man on drugs or necessarily alcohol either.

You wouldnt need those stimulants if you were already mad or just evil.

[Jeff Leahy]

Wasn't BS man described as walking, as if drunk?

Pirate

PS While you're discussing abortion I heard somewhere that Gin was used in the process which is why it is reffered to as 'mothers ruin', does anyone know if that is true?

[j.r-ahde]

Hello halomanuk, after a long time!

Doing fine and I agree with you; the Ripper was so madly in love with his deeds, that he didn't need any drugs!

What it comes to Sherlock Holmes, there was a mentioned "narcotics" in some story. But that's (since English is not my mother-tongue! ) a pretty wide concept, I think!

All the best
Jukka

[DVV]

Agreed!
I can't see why JtR should be a teetotaller.

Amitiés,
David