Gateway Drugs and Common Drug Abuse
The oldest known written record of drug use is a clay tablet from the ancient Sumerian civilization of the Middle East. This tablet, made in the 2000's B.C., lists about a dozen drug prescriptions. An Egyptian scroll from bout 1550 B.C. names more than 800 prescriptions containing about 700 drugs. The ancient Chinese, Greek and Romans also used many drugs. The Greeks and Romans used opium to relieve pain. The Egyptians used castor oil as a laxative. The Chinese ate liver to cure anemia.
In the 1500,s and 1600's, doctors and scientists made important advances in Pharmacology and in other fields of science. In the early 1500's, Swiss physician Philippus Paracelsus pioneered in the use of minerals as drugs. He introduces many compounds of lead, mercury and other minerals in the treatment of other diseases.
Gateway drugs are substances that people take which, in many cases, lead to those people taking more drugs. Alcohol and pot are the most......
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