No, he was talking about how young people now arent aiming for families, but looking to "feel good"...
He shouted down some intelligensia lady yesterday that called saying there was more drug abuse in the 20s than now. I find that hard to believe.
"He shouted down some intelligensia lady yesterday that called saying there was more drug abuse in the 20s than now"
Not likely since many Americans were TOO POOR to have any extra cash to blow on drug abuse. Particulary in Rural America where moon shine was predominently made for personal consumption not designer drug use. Rural people were thrifty not chemists.
It could be, there have been several periods of severe abuse in the US. Coca Cola, it is rumored, had Coke at one time....
The 20's were a high point in drug use in America, especially morphine and heroin. Those drugs were not illegal until 1914-1920 depending on the drug and the jurisdiction, and the addictive and dangerous effects were not well known. Kind of like the number of smokers in the 60's. We were just finding out about cigarettes and by then many were already addicted.
Estimates run from 300k to 1.5 million addicts in the US in the 20's. Don't know how that compares with today, but it certainly must have been a hefty percentage.
Have you ever seen the play or the movie "Long Day's Journey Into Night" by Eugene O'Neill? Excellent portrayal of his mother's addiction.