"During the 1950′s, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream media. At the time, many amphetamines were available over the counter without a prescription, including Benzedrine."
I find this to be quite interesting, as this means that what are now illegal drugs had been legal for about 20 years before the Controlled Substances Act of 1970[1]. This means that there was a fairly established industry selling what are now controlled drugs, a fact that I hadn't really thought through before.
It makes me wonder whether if at the time if the Drug industry was simply not that important, or if the 1970 law was similar to the Farm Bills, where by accepting more regulation, the drug companies would receive less competition. If that's the case, there might be an interesting story to be told (probably mostly wrong) about how the Drug War brought about the current power of the Pharmaceutical Companies, unrelated to the patent laws involved. In any case, it looks like a part of history that I haven't paid too much attention to, that I should look at. Fun times!