Drugs in the Greco-Roman period and Modern Day

Drugs were prevalent in history well before even the Greco-Roman era, and drug use has recently become a hot topic on the news. My presentation will compare the types of drugs and the rate of use in antiquity and current society. One might imagine that drugs were more commonly used in antiquity due to the more intense physical pains of daily life, but as I will show drugs are more commonly used today. The first section deals with comparing hard drugs that have mind-altering effects. The main drugs available in the Classical period were opium, wormwood, and mushrooms which compare with opioids, LSD, and magic mushrooms in modern times respectively. The second section deals with alcohol consumption. The main sources of alcohol in the Greco-Roman era were beer, wine, and some mead. Once again, alcohol is consumed more by modern America than it was by the Greek and Roman citizens. However, the so-called "barbarians" in the Greco-Roman era seemed to consume alcohol more than modern Americans.