Psychopharmacology

“Because the chemical properties of benzodiazepines remain unchanged, this shift can be explained only by understanding these drugs as historical artifacts whose political viability tells us much about the world that determines their worth. . . . The diethylstilbestrol (synthetic estrogen) scandal, the thalidomide tragedy, and nagging doubts about the safety of oral contraceptives had burst the bubble of confidence in pharmaceutical panacea. There were also the illicit drugs, such as marijuana and LSD, that were being widely used a rebellious youth” (Tone, 378).