Editor’s Introduction

These are undoubtedly exciting times here in Madison! It is my pleasure and honor to succeed Dr. Gregory Higby as the Editor in Chief of Pharmacy in History. It is the oldest journal of its kind in North America and, first published in 1959, it is celebrating its sixtieth Anniversary this year. We are accordingly casting a gaze both backward and forward with this issue.

Pharmacy in History announced six decades ago that “future issues” would offer “historical writing, reading, or collecting.” The journal would address “events and people, in whatever country” that was significant for the field of pharmacy and pharmaceutical history. The journal would also act as a “stimulus.”

The cover of this issue likely stimulated a few opinions about contemporary events–and the image was chosen rather deliberately! Americans are currently being gripped by a widespread opioid crisis and pharmacists and historians have a tremendous role to play. In 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 120 people die per day after overdosing on opioids, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data suggest that the economic burden associated with opioid misuse in the United States is roughly $78.5 billion.

Yet, such crises are not altogether new. In 1914, the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was passed in the US as a means to control the sale of heroin and other opiates by requiring doctors and pharmacists who prescribed these drugs to register and pay a tax. Then, in 1923, the Treasury Department’s Narcotics Division banned legal narcotics sales. A year later, in 1924, the Anti-Heroin Act made the manufacturing and possession of heroin illegal, which essentially forced addicts to illegally purchase heroin from street dealers.¹ Our cover is a nod to this history and its relevance to the present.

This issue’s cover also relates to the legacy of Dr. Higby and opiates/opioids, as we spotlight one of his most stimulating articles. In the intriguing “Heroin and Medical Reasoning: The Power of Analogy,” he recounts how the knowledge and reputation of a drug can change over time. Eminent pharmacologists, drug manufacturers, and physicians responded haphazardly to the fact that heroin had become a “drug of choice” for many addicts. And heroin, he contends, shifted from “faithful servant” in American medicine to a “whipping boy.”

Michael Flannery’s lead research article, meanwhile, offers new interpretations of Civil War-era pharmaceutical innovation and practice–and also underscores Higby’s contribution to the history of pharmacy field. In “Government as Apothecary: Civil War Pharmacy and the Common Good,” Flannery examines public-private partnerships and suggests that government labs in the US were a crucial influence on pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. The argument is obviously topical as Americans grapple with the role of public money in the development of pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs (Truvada) and resulting “break the patent” arguments directed at Gilead.

Brent Arehart’s “Erectogenic Drugs in Greek Medicine,” by contrast, explores a much earlier period of history and does not necessarily align with Greg Higby’s historiographical contributions. But its inclusion in this issue certainly relates to Greg’s larger philosophy at Pharmacy in History. He consistently encouraged the very best PhD students and Early Career Researchers to publish their scholarship. Arehart’s deeply researched (and occasionally comical) article provides the first critical overview of erectogenic drugs and adds to the understanding of medicine and sexuality in antiquity.

The rest of the issue does not center on research exactly, but on remembrances as well as book reviews. Various friends and scholars, such as Mary Schaeffer Conroy, Arthur Daemmrich, Micaela Sullivan-Fowler, and AIHP President Bill Zellmer, reflect on Greg Higby. At the same time, the book review section offers some thought-provoking assessments of recent scholarship. Enjoy.

While this issue obviously contemplates the past, several recent developments will impact Pharmacy in History’s future. Any board of directors, government, or editorial team must encourage fresh talent and voices to participate in the conversation. So it is with Pharmacy in History, which has cultivated a new team of editors to complement existing staff. Managing Editor, Dr. Gregory Bond, will be joined by the talented Dr. Kelly O’Donnell (Thomas Jefferson), Dr. Jaipreet Virdi (Delaware), and Dr. Petros Bouras-Vallianatos (Edinburgh) as new contributing editors. At the same time, Amelie Bonney (Oxford), Hilary Ingram (Durham), and Ian Miller (Ulster) will constitute a new team of review editors. Welcome, of course, to everyone!

Just as important, it is a privilege to introduce the new editorial board (EB). Some of the EB members will be familiar to Pharmacy in History readers, whereas others may not. The intent behind the EB was to provide intellectual guidance; it was critical to balance the tradition of the journal and to recast it for the next generation of scholars. Everyone here at AIHP and at Pharmacy in History wants to appeal to existing readers/members as well as draw new ones into the fold. And one objective in creating the Board was to diversify representation of subfields and geographies, in addition to reaching out to established and untapped audiences alike.

It’s a period of transition at Pharmacy in History. This first issue of 2019 marks my first outing as Editor in Chief, but also the first for the editorial staff and editorial board. It’s a unique moment. And I absolutely have to thank Greg Bond, now a Senior Editor, for all of his dedicated work. He, along with all of the AIHP staff, make this job even more rewarding.

I will conclude this introduction with two final points. First, thanks to Dr. Gregory Higby for his clever and careful leadership at Pharmacy in History. This issue is dedicated to him. Second, I would like to issue a call for research papers and other contributions. In the years ahead, we hope to build on Pharmacy in History’s venerable past to further stimulate greater understanding of pharmaceuticals and pharmacy. There are going to be some changes, yes, and definitely some growing pains. We need your support. And we are pleased to take up the challenge.