History of Drug Use and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
A Brief History of Drug Use
Early Therapeutic Drugs
In approximately 1500 B.C., opium and castor oil were first documented as therapeutic drugs. This period saw the rise of centralized religions in Egyptian and Babylonian societies, a decline in shamanism, and an increased emphasis on formal rituals and rules.
The Ebers Papyrus (approx. 1500 B.C.) is the earliest known collection of prescriptions. It contains over 800 prescriptions for various ailments, many containing ingredients we wouldn’t consider therapeutic today (e.g., feces, blood, hair). Over one hundred preparations included castor oil, and some contained “berry of the poppy”.
The Modern Era of Healing (Late 1700s-1800s)
The late 1700s to late 1800s witnessed significant advancements in medicine, including the identification of morphine as opium’s active ingredient. This made it the most reliable pain reliever of its time.
1853: Alexander Wood invented the hypodermic syringe, enabling the direct and rapid delivery of morphine and other substances into the bloodstream.
Cocaine was extracted from coca leaves and used as a stimulant and antidepressant.
The late 1800s is often considered the “modern era of the history of healing” due to key discoveries such as anesthetic drugs, enabling painless surgery, and the wider administration of vaccines.
Edward Jenner (1796): Smallpox vaccine
Louis Pasteur (1885): Rabies vaccine
Opium, cheap and legal, was often consumed as laudanum (alcohol and opium). Cocaine was also widely used, both casually and therapeutically:
An ingredient in Coca-Cola
Remedy for chest colds
Sold by drug companies
1884: Sigmund Freud recommended cocaine as a treatment for morphine addiction.
Widespread use of opium, morphine, alcohol, and cocaine-containing remedies, known as patent medicines, led to social problems. Medical professionals and social reformers began to highlight the dangers of unregulated access to psychoactive substances.
The 1930s and Beyond
Following the prohibition of many psychoactive substances, amphetamines gained popularity. Their various effects led to their prescription for:
Nasal decongestant (Benzedrine)
Treatment of depression
Enhancing alertness (World War II)
Weight loss medication
The mid-1950s saw advancements in psychiatry with the introduction of anti-schizophrenic drugs, revolutionizing psychiatric care.
The 1950s also saw the glamorization of smoking and social drinking, further normalized by the increasing accessibility of television. LSD was also used in psychotherapy.
The late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed experimentation with marijuana, LSD, stimulants, and depressants. Marijuana use symbolized a generation’s defiance of establishment values, and heroin abuse increased.
Government-funded research into the effects of drugs on the brain led to the rise of neuroscience in the 1970s.
The 1980s saw a peak in cocaine use, initially in powdered form (cocaine hydrochloride), followed by the introduction of crack cocaine in the mid-1980s.
The 1990s saw the rise of “club drugs” like MDMA, LSD, GHB, and ketamine.
The early 2000s brought increased recreational and therapeutic abuse of prescription opioids and benzodiazepines.
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) (1997) regulates drug use in Canada. It classifies substances into schedules and outlines five main offences:
Schedules I-IV list controlled substances, with Schedule I containing the most dangerous drugs (heroin, cocaine, amphetamines). Schedule IX covers equipment used in drug production. Prescription drugs are regulated under the Food and Drug Regulations.
The CDSA also addresses offences related to obtaining prescriptions fraudulently. Ontario’s Narcotics Strategy aims to promote the responsible use and prescribing of controlled substances.
Impaired Driving
Impaired driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is an offence under the Criminal Code, not the CDSA.
Consequences of Conviction
Drug offences carry serious consequences, including a criminal record that may affect employment, travel, and professional licensing.
How Drugs Affect the Brain
Neurons and Synapses
This image shows real neurons from the thalamus, illustrating their basic anatomy: cell body (soma), dendrites, axon, and terminal. Neurons communicate through electrical and chemical signals across synapses.
Neurons communicate with each other through a directional flow of information (electrical and chemical). An electrical impulse (the action potential) travels down the axon toward the terminal. The terminal makes a connection with the dendrite of neighboring neuron, where it passes on chemical information. The area of connection is called the synapse. This is the site of communication between the two neurons.
Routes of Administration
For a drug to have an effect, it must enter the bloodstream. Common routes of administration include:
- Oral (swallowing)
- Intramuscular (injection into muscle)
- Subcutaneous (injection under the skin)
- Intravenous (injection into vein)
- Transdermal (skin patch)
- Inhalation (smoking, inhalers)
- Intranasal (sniffing)
The speed of absorption varies depending on the route of administration, affecting addictive liability. Oral administration involves the “first-pass effect”, where the liver metabolizes a significant portion of the drug before it reaches systemic circulation.