Drugs in Whitechapel/Spitalfields

[JTRSickert]

Has anyone ever researched what the status of the drug culture (if any) was like in the East End in the 1880s or LVP? YEs, we all know what the 2 main vices in that area was: alcoholism and prostitution. However, in order to make money, wouldn't any one consider maybe trying to peddle some stuff that may make East Enders feel good and take their mind off the hardship of life? Was there any supply and demand for opium, hashish, morphine, cocaine base, or other types of narcotics or stimulants going around at that time? Hey, maybe JTR was a dope fiend who got high before he committed a murder.

[Gman992]

Weren't certain drugs legal? I know at least opium was tolerated by the British gov't going so far as to start war over the ending of trade. Most likely, though, as it is today, a majority of the poor can't afford drugs. Why do it when gin was so much cheaper...and probably just a little bit safer.

[The Grave Maurice]

We know that cocaine and morphine could be legally obtained at the time (see the Sherlock Holmes stories). As Gman said, they were probably just too pricey for most people.

[JTRSickert]

Coule they have been obtained by some black market, which could have the prices at a cheaper, affordable price?

[DVV]

Everything available at Packer's hypermarket.

[JTRSickert]

Everything available at Packer's hypermarket.

Indeed DVV,

especially grapes laced with laudnaum.

[DVV]

Yes JTRS.

More seriously, opium may have been cheaper than other drugs.
But it makes you too sleepy to butcher anyone.

Amitiés,
David

[belinda]

What about the East End
"Öpium Dens" an episode of Doctor Who (The Talons Of Weng Chiang) mention these.

[bolo]

Hi,

Has anyone ever researched what the status of the drug culture (if any) was like in the East End in the 1880s or LVP? YEs, we all know what the 2 main vices in that area was: alcoholism and prostitution. However, in order to make money, wouldn't any one consider maybe trying to peddle some stuff that may make East Enders feel good and take their mind off the hardship of life? Was there any supply and demand for opium, hashish, morphine, cocaine base, or other types of narcotics or stimulants going around at that time? Hey, maybe JTR was a dope fiend who got high before he committed a murder.

Cocaine, smoking opium (Chandu), Heroin and Laudanum (an alcoholic tincture of opium) were either more or less freely available or readily prescribed by doctors. A small bottle of Laudanum was cheaper than a glass of gin so it was considered a "working class drug". That was because Laudanum was treated as a medication, not taxed as an alcoholic drink, and therefore was in widespread (ab)use, see the corresponding Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudanum .

There most probably was considerable demand for opiates and their derivates but aquisition was a non-issue most of the time so the number of full-time drug dealers must have been quite small.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the the murderer - like many of his contemporaries - came in touch with opiates or other drugs at one point in his life but I don't really believe in a Jack the Druggie.

Boris

[SirJohnFalstaff]

We know that cocaine and morphine could be legally obtained at the time (see the Sherlock Holmes stories). As Gman said, they were probably just too pricey for most people.

Actually, no. Laudanum was a tincture of opium that you mixed in alcohol or water. It was cheaper than gin and used as cough suppressant, woman's cramp remedy, it was basically the Victorian's Aspirin.

Cocaine was available for tooth ache, and also used to treat opium addiction. (I know, I know). You might also want to look into Vin Mariana, which was a wine mixed with 7% cocaine.

There are also reports of speedball overdose (mix of Heroine/opiate with cocaine) as early as 1900. It's possible it existed before without being widely known.

Some hallucinogenic mushrooms derivate also existed. Not sure of their availability.

In France, it was the golden age of absinthe, but the psychotic effects were largely exaggerated.

Also interesting, amphetamines were developed in Europe as early as 1887 (in Romania) but were largely unnoticed until WWI.

[Dave O]

I've seen inquest testimony where a sale of laudanum to a suicide was tracked back to the chemist, who described two or three pennyworths of laudanum as being readily available from his shop in Tottenham, October 1888. The only restriction on the sale was that it was labeled poison and for that amount customers would have to declare what they wanted it for. The chemist described this amount as a generally poisonous dose (a post mortem of the victim revealed a "large" quantity in the stomach).