Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 149 years ago.

149 years ago was the Battle Of Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tn. during the War Of Northern Agression. I went there today and watched a great reinactment, of both Union & Confederate actor soldiers, firing both muskets and artillery.

The Battle Of Stones River, was a major win for the Union. It set up a place to move South to Chattanooga, then on to Atlanta and on to the Ga. coast.

For the Cavalry fans, this area of the Stones River was one that Gen. Forrest knew well, as the little town of Kittrell, TN. on the Rutherford/Cannon Co. line was the home of his wife.

i remember that

I wonder if that war would have taken place if marijauna was readily available?

Guess it depends on who was picking the marijuana

Marijuana was available genius. It wasn't illegal either. It was called "Hemp" and was used for a variety of things, rope being one of the main ones. Who picked it depended on your outlook, how much money you had and where you lived. Darkies mainly did around here. Lots of Hemp grown up on the Missouri River where I lived for a time when I was a little kid.

This day's history lesson is free. Subsequent ones will cost you. Be advised.

They had Morphine, don't know how controlled it was, as far as access. It's interesting that the first drug laws in this country came about, after the Civil War and it dealt with Morphine. It was probably in use, more then is known.

As Cole stated, hemp was around to make rope from and people probably had tried to burn it and discovered the effects upon them.

Why can't I find a period civil war bong on e-bay?

May have saved a lot of whipping if supplied to the slaves. May have not got much work done though

Opium was a big problem as was Heroine, both were touted as medical miracle cures for most everything that ailed ya.

In just over 10 years time from its arrival into this country, the United States was plagued with a major morphine epidemic. Even though no actual statistics were kept on addiction at this time, the problem had grown to large enough proportions to raise serious concerns from the medical profession. Doctors became perplexed and were completely in the dark as to how to treat this new epidemic.

By 1874 the answer to this increasing problem was thought to be found in the invention of a new drug in Germany. This new wonder drug was called Heroin, after its German trademarked name. Heroin was imported into the United States shortly after it was invented. The sales pitch that created an instant market to American doctors and their morphine addicted patients was that Heroin was a "safe, non-addictive" substitute for morphine.

Hence, the heroin addict was born and has been present in American culture ever since.

From the late 1800's to the early 1900's the reputable drug companies of the day began manufacturing over-the-counter drug kits. These kits contained a glass barreled hypodermic needle and vials of opiates (morphine or heroin) and/or cocaine packaged neatly in attractive engraved tin cases. Laudanum (opium in an alcohol base) was also a very popular elixir that was used to treat a variety of ills. Laudanum was administered to kids and adults alike - as freely as aspirin is used today.

There were of course marketing and advertising campaigns launched by the drug companies producing this product that touted these narcotics as the cure for all types of physical and mental ailments ranging from alcohol withdrawal to cancer, depression, sluggishness, coughs, colds, tuberculosis and even old age. Most of the elixirs pitched by the old "snake oil salesmen" in their medicine shows contained one or more of these narcotics in their mix.

Heroin, morphine and other opiate derivatives were unregulated and sold legally in the United States until 1920 when Congress recognized the danger of these drugs and enacted the Dangerous Drug Act. This new law made over-the-counter purchase of these drugs illegal and deemed that their distribution be federally regulated. By the time this law was passed, however, it was already too late. A market for heroin in the U.S. had been created. By 1925 there were an estimated 200,000 heroin addicts in the country. It was a market which would persist until this day.

Availability leads to use; use leads to addiction; addiction is long-term; and addiction becomes a publicly manifest problem.

Did you check with Gus?

So the gooberment became involved regulated, outlawed it, and fixed the problem.
Now instead of just addicts we have major crime too, essentially making a bad problem worse, as gooberment always does.
Curing the drug problem just like they did for the alcohol problems during probation.

Your brilliance continues to dazzle some of us here on the 'fire. Have you ever been or ever been around somebody in real pain? I mean something that Aspirin or Acetomenephin won't touch? There is a real need for pain relieving medications. There isn't as much need for regulation of them as we have now. Over and over and over thinking people have said just legalize the stuff. Let the hippies blow their minds. Quit penalizing people for defending themselves and their property and the tertiary problems will solve themselves. Quit allowing bleeding-heart liberals to control the tax laws and subsequently give away our hard-earned taxes to addicts who will never get better or who have hurt themselves with their addiction. Most of the problems today are caused by do-gooders who have access to other people's money and also people who have to stick their noses into every aspect of everybody's life.

I thought Alaska was a freedom-loving state. You've always struck me as somebody who belongs in Massachusetts or somewhere. Apologies to Kamo.

Think this will fit here.

Why are drugs illegal? Because the govt. can't figure out a way to tax it. If they could, it wouldn't have been demonized and outlawed.

Face it, the only way they get revenue is through fines and siezed assets.

As for winning the "War on Drugs". They can't win it because there would go the revenue. And we all understand revenue is something the govt. has to have.

BTW, other crimes committed also result in fines etc. Drugs aren't the goldmine, you think they are.

Alcohol related crimes from public intoxication to DUI produce a large portion of revenue into any court system. In this state your assets "vehicle" can be seized for DUI also.

Neither of ya are "getting it" it COSTS the US tax payer billions, this so called and completely unwinable "war on drugs", not to mention the lives lost, or prisons full. This cancer called the drug war is eating at the very core of society and affects everyone that reads this far more than any of us care to admit.
It goes hand in hand with the pay to have babies Johnson's "Great Society's" welfare system has, and will for hundred's of years to come. Pay the countries low life idiots to make babies and that is exactly what they did, by the millions.
Another fine mess gooberment has gotten us into, just like "two peas in a pod", as Stan or Ollie would have said.

So are you a legalize it fan?? I see the effect of legally prescribed prescription painkillers and how they've effected many peoples lives. This from those in their 70's to those in their 20's. Legalization in itself isn't the answer either.

if yah look throughout history ppl seeking altered states of reality to help escape the present is the norm and not in anyway unusual.....quite frankly its hardwired into the human condition with no way to escape it.....no amount of legislation or severity of punishment will ever get rid of it.....for those that say just kill the addicts the Chinese tried that and actually had the balls to carry it out but gave up after they discovered it didnt actually even slow down use.....

only real solution is, is let those that are gonna destroy themselves do so and hold out a hand and help those that decide they want to quit.....cause quite frankly unless a person wants to quit they wont no matter what the punishment is....

"quite frankly its hardwired into the human condition with no way to escape it"

In other words, a combination of environment and genetics?

Either way, I agree with you rattler. Those that wanna are gonna and those that don't won't.

As for being for it or against it, I don't know. What I do know is, what we are doing now isn't working. Time to think outside the box and get this problem fixed.

Call me a hardazz if you want, but its past time to start taking care of ourselves and quit worrying about others(on all fronts).

in neanderthal and modern man grave sites going as far back as they have looked ppl have been buried with plants and fungi that are psychoactive.....its been with us as long as we have been around.....whether its caffeine for a morning pick me up, a beer to relax after a hard days work or some rainforest shaman taking morning glory seeds to commune with his gods chemical altering of reality is the norm with humans......only difference is some drugs are more intense in high and dangers than others.....

no changing it via prison or death penalty, it is never going away, all you can do is try and help those that want help....