Making the Drugs Sound Scary


For the entirety of the drug war, making the drugs sound as frightening and dangerous as possible has been a central focus of prohibition. Some people think that if a person is too afraid of drugs they will never try them. It doesn't really seem to be working very well though, as year after year: new people try drugs for the first time.

The "menace, scourge, threat, evil, peril, specter" etc of drugs
Year Headline Publication Issue Date
1909 Latest drug danger World's Work Aug
1909 American opium peril Putnam's Dec
1911 Horrible perils of taking medicines World's Work Jun
1912 Peril of the drug habit Century Aug
1913 Cocaine evil Outlook Feb 8
1914 Drug-endangered nation Literary Digest Mar 28
1919 Drug menace in America Review of Reviews Sep
1921 Evil of drug addiction New Republic May 18
1922 Increasing drug menace and its serpentine trail Current Opinion May
1922 Ending the narcotic menace Literary Digest Jun 10
1923 National menace of the dope traffic Literary Digest Feb 24
1923 Drug evil New Republic Mar 7
1923 Menace of opium Nation Jun 20
1924 Halting the opium menace Independent Dec 13
1925 How California is dealing with the narcotic evil Outlook Apr 22
1926 Fighting the dope menace Literary Digest Aug 28
1928 Spot-light again for the opium devil Survey Apr 1
1935 Dope menace Good Housekeeping Feb
1936 Marihuana menaces youth Scientific American Mar
1936 Uncle Sam fights a new drug menace: Marijuana Popular Science May
1937 Dangers of heroin Current History Apr
1938 Marijuana menace Literary Digest Jan 1
1938 Marijuana, assassin of youth Reader's Digest Feb
1939 One more peril for youth Forum Jan
1945 Menace of Marijuana Science Digest Jul
1946 Hemp menace Business Week Jan 12
1946 Opium: world menace CSMonitor Magazine Jan 19
1947 Old and new narcotic perils U.N. Bulletin Sep 16
1952 Truth about the drug menace Harper's Feb
1957 Narcotic menace lurks in doctor's medical bag Science Digest Jul
1958 Menace of the sleeping pill habit Coronet Mar
1958 Mushroom madness Time Jun 16
1962 Menace of dope Parents Oct
1963 Dangerous magic of LSD Sat Eve Post Nov 2
1965 Thrill-pill menace Sat Eve Post Dec 4
1966 Spread and perils of LSD Life Mar 25
1967 Risk of marijuana New Republic Apr 22
1967 Drugs: mounting menace of abuse Look Aug 8
1967 Hidden evils of LSD Sat Eve Post Aug 12
1967 Drugs that even scare hippies Life Oct 27
1967 Marijuana: dangerous as alcohol New Republic Oct 28
1967 How dangerous is marijuana? a top official sparks new debate US News Oct 30
1967 LSD: growing menace to teenagers Parents Nov
1968 Drug dangers, the case gets stronger Science Digest Jul
1969 Warning: steer clear of THC Look Apr 15
1970 Drugs raise a specter Business Week May 9
1970 Drugs: ten years to doomsday? Saturday Review Nov 14
1970 Drug threat in business Nation Nov 16
1971 Our most dangerous epidemic Nations Business Jul
1972 Road to hell Newsweek Mar 6
1972 New and growing drug threat Reader's Digest Jun
1973 LSD and the drug culture: new evidence of hazard Science Mar 23
1975 Return of the hard drug menace US News Jun 30
1975 Alcohol and marijuana: spreading menace among teen-agers US News Nov 24
1978 Drugs and the athlete: a growing threat Reader's Digest May
1980 Danger! prescription drug abuse Reader's Digest Apr
1980 New and deadly menace [white heroin] Time Oct 6
1981 Africa and the drug threat World Health Dec
1982 Medical menace: doctors hooked on drugs Ladies Home Journal Mar
1982 The cocaine high: dangerous new drug of the '80s Glamour Aug
1984 The hidden scourge of drugs in the workplace Reader's Digest Feb
1984 The drug abuse epidemic American Education Oct
1985 Drugs: are you dealing with disaster? Teen Jan
1985 Marijuana report: the latest dope on its dangers Mademoiselle Jun
1985 Links between international narcotics trafficking and terrorism U.S. Dept of State Bulletin Aug
1986 Crack: dangerous new drug Good Housekeeping Aug
1986 Threat to health from drugs termed 'narco-terrorism' World Health Aug/Sep
1986 Cocaine: an American epidemic? Current Health Nov
1986 Crack: an even deadlier menace McCall's Nov
1987 Narcotics: terror's new ally US News May 4
1987 Narcotics: a global threat Dept of State Bulletin Aug
1988 The perils of pot Discover Jun
1988 Drugs on Main Street: the enemy up close US News Jun 27
1989 Dangerous new drugs [speed and ecstasy] Good Housekeeping Apr
1989 A deadly plague of drugs MacLean's Apr 3
1989 The return of a deadly drug called horse US News Aug 14
1989 Apocalypse now: drugs Life Sep
1989 A plague without boundaries Time Nov 6
1990 Down to cocaine hell Reader's Digest Dec
1991 Don't fry your brain [ad campaign] Forbes Feb 4
1991 Wine and downers: are you at risk? Harper's Bazaar Aug
1992 The new teenage drug danger [human growth hormore] McCall's Sep
1992 Krazy khat New Republic Nov 23
1993 Worldwide drug scourge: the response Brookings Review Spring
1993 Fatal attraction: how "huffing" kills Redbook Mar
1993 Crack -- a lethal drug Current Health 2 Apr
1993 Choose your poison Time Jul 26
1993 Drugs -- they can blow your mind Current Health 2 Sep
1993 Worldwide drug scourge: the expanding trade in illicit drugs Brookings Review Winter
1994 A new generation, and old danger Reader's Digest Oct
1994 OTC drugs: legal but could be lethal Current Health 2 Dec
1995 A risky Rx for fun [taking Ritalin recreationally] Newsweek Oct 30
1996 The nightmare of crystal meth 'Teen Feb
1996 The fear of heroin is shooting up Newsweek Aug 26
1996 Heroin: a deadly narcotic Current Health 2 Oct
1997 Cocaine: a killer Current Health 2 Mar
1997 Marijuana: useful medicine or dangerous drug? Consumers' Research May
1997 Roofies: horror drug of the '90s Current Health 2 Sep
1997 "Ice" shatters lives Current Health 2 Oct
1999 Battling the drug demon USA Today (Periodical) May
1999 A deadly drug, a new generation [heroin] Reader's Digest Jul
1999 A deadly high: how inhalants can kill 'Teen Sep
1999 The danger of being young, hip and high [ecstasy] US News Dec 13
2000 Dope fiends Harper's Nov
2001 The potent perils of a miracle drug [oxycontin] Time Jan 8
2001 'They become raving maniacs' [views of E. Murphy about marijuana use] Maclean's Aug 6

Source: Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature

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