June
8,
2023
In light of contemporary court cases about the legal and ethical responsibility of pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy chains to protect patients and consumers from psychoactive and intoxicating substances, this Kreminar highlights the internal debates between pharmacists about their need to balance profits with public health concerns related to so-called “dangerous drugs” and “magic bullets.” More specifically, this talk will present archival documents from approximately 1950 to 1975 in the United States, including a collection of posters by Frank Pinchak, documents from the American Pharmaceutical Association regarding the 1962 Remington Honor Medal that was given to Harry Anslinger, and a 1974 consumer manual on “Soft Drugs” that was published by the Pharmacists’ Society of Milwaukee County. Utilizing such primary documents from the AIHP-UWSoP, this Kreminar covers the discussions between pharmacists about the construction of their authority in the medical marketplace, the gatekeeping efforts of the pharmacist as part of the pharmaceutical industry, and the marketing of drugs that cross between medicinal and recreational contexts, such as opium and various opiates. These topics and concerns, put simply, grapple with the role of pharmacists and the pharmaceutical industry in harm reduction (broadly construed). While harm reduction, as a political movement and public health policy, did not begin to take shape until the late twentieth century, the debates between pharmacists throughout the early- and mid-twentieth century in the United States showcase a concern about the commodification, franchising, and profit-motives of the pharmaceutical industry.
Thursday, June 8
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Zoom
This event is the second of the five-part Summer 2023 Kreminar Series:
Highlighting Our Homebase: Stories from the AIHP/UWSoP Historical Collections
