Pharmaceuticals

“In the footsteps of the poppy”: a new virtual exhibition by the National Pharmaceutical Museum

by

The Netherlands’ Nationaal Farmaceutisch Museum has launched their virtual exhibition on the history of opium and opiates curated by digital archivist Rimke van der Bij in partnership with experienced academics in the histories of drugs and pharmaceuticals, Toine Pieters and Stephen Snelders.

Call for Nominations for the George Urdang Medal

by
AIHP Logo

he American Institute for the History of Pharmacy is now accepting nominations for the George Urdang Medal, which recognizes the lifetime achievements of a person who has made important scholarly contributions to the field of the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. The deadline for nominations is June 1, 2023.

Points Interview: ‘Controlling the Uterus’ with Naomi Rendina

by
Ad for Pitocin showing descriptive text, several diagrams of the pituitary gland, and the label July, 1939

Today’s post features an interview with Naomi Rendina, a US-based historian. Naomi focuses on the history of reproduction and pharmaceuticals involved in childbirth. Naomi recently authored ‘Controlling the Uterus: A History of Labor Augmentation Drugs in Childbirth, 1900–1970‘ in the recently-published issue of the History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals. Find out more about Naomi’s background, article and future research plans in this interview.

Accepting Applications for 2023 AIHP PhD Research Support Grant

by
AIHP Logo

The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is now accepting applications for 2023 AIHP PhD Research Support Grants. The AIHP PhD Research Support Grant Program encourages academic research by doctoral candidates on topics related to the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals (broadly defined). The program provides grants up to $2,000, and AIHP hopes to fund two grants in 2023.

Competition for the 2023 AIHP Glenn Sonnedecker Prize Opens

by

The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is pleased to announce the opening of the 2023 AIHP Glenn Sonnedecker Prize competition. Each year, the Sonnedecker Prize recognizes the author(s) of the best unpublished manuscript submitted in the competition on a topic within the field of the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals.

A Snapshot of Drug Advertising Laws in the USA: Impact on Consumer Protection and Health

by

Traditional drug advertisements involve drug ads and promotional material targeted at healthcare professionals to increase clinician knowledge of advancement in treatment options. On the other hand, direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is pharmaceutical advertising directed at patients to increase their awareness of available drugs and treatment options.

There has been renewed interest in the value of DTCA in recent years, which makes it seem like a modern phenomenon, but the practice dates back to early medical training. The argument in support of DTCA is that targeting consumers instead of healthcare providers gives patients power and agency over their drug consumption (Schwartz & Woloshin, 2016). While this argument has some merits, it is vital that we know the history of drug advertisements in the United States to understand how DTCA has shaped public perception of drugs, drug use, and public health. Only with this understanding can we make a sound judgment on the need for DTCA in present times and the future of healthcare.

Read more

Discussions on Enacting Transdisciplinarity in Psychedelic Studies 

by

In my first post for this six-part series of commentaries, I reflected on the start of the “Psychedelic Pasts, Presents, and Futures” Borghesi-Mellon workshop when faculty, students, and community members gathered in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to discuss the importance of transdisciplinarity in psychedelic research and education. In this final post of the series, I return to transdisciplinarity after a semester of events, including a second discussion about transdisciplinarity on the other side of UW-Madison’s campus in the brutalist, concrete Helen C. White Hall. One of the aims of the organizers—Dr. Lucas Richert, Amanda Pratt, and myself–for this workshop was to foster conversations about what humanities and social sciences perspectives bring to psychedelic studies, particularly in relation to the role of transdisciplinarity at the new Transdisciplinary Center for Research on Psychoactive Substances (TCRPS) at UW-Madison.

Read more

Future Histories of Psychedelic Biomedicine

by

A commonly cited catalyst for the psychedelic renaissance is the renewed interest in biomedical research on psychedelics for mental health, including depression, PTSD, and addiction. For instance, popular media like Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind (2018) and its Netflix adaptation (2022) often utilize this research to bolster claims about the relative safety of psychedelics and their efficacy as a mental health treatment. The common (and simplified) narrative in these popular portrayals is that psychedelic research boomed throughout the mid-twentieth century before being swept up in the drug war and pushed underground, and yet today, after years of unjust policies and propaganda, psychedelic researchers and advocates from the past are being proven right by contemporary biomedical research.

Read more