did they really think cocaine was harmless??

[Villavic]

I had read several times in different articles (mac biographies, studio 54 documentary, etc) that during the 70s people thought cocaine was ok. Are they really sincere?? I was 13 in 1979 and already knew it was a drug and a very bad one (being peruvian it was a must to know about it, here is far cheaper than other countries, so easier to get near schools, etc).

In 1997 Stevie said it so, I remember she said nobody told us you could end with a hole in your nose the size of Arizona. People who used to go to Studio 54 told similar things.. it was cool, it was well seen, etc.

Was there no media warning you about it?? I can't believe it.

If that is true, then why STevie wrote take your silver spoon and dig your grave??

[carrie721]

I think of it as willful ignorance. They didn't want to think there was anything wrong with what they were doing.

[goldie]

Different times, I guess. Not too long ago, it was totally cool to smoke cigarettes. Now it's practically outlawed in public. (At least here in NY it is).

For some reason, I never thought that line from GDW referred to cocaine (spoon, grave). Although I can certainly see why it could, lol! I just thought it was a metaphor for something else.

[JazmenFlowers]

Different times, I guess. Not too long ago, it was totally cool to smoke cigarettes. Now it's practically outlawed in public. (At least here in NY it is).

For some reason, I never thought that line from GDW referred to cocaine (spoon, grave). Although I can certainly see why it could, lol! I just thought it was a metaphor for something else.
weird...everything you said, I was going to say.

well, except for the NY part.

[goldie]

weird...everything you said, I was going to say.

well, except for the NY part.

weird! this was one of the few times I actually got to a new thread soon after it's posted and can actually say something other than "yeah, what he/she said" lol!

xoxoxo

[David]

As late as 1980, influential scientific writings reflected the prevailing non-critical assessment of the dangers of cocaine: The 1980 edition of the Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry asserted that cocaine posed no serious problem, if use was limited to two or three times a week.

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9712/appc.htm

[gldstwmn]

The 70's was a time in this culture where a lot of people thought they were invincible.

[SuzeQuze]

My dad stayed away from drugs out of principle even during those times. So people did know they were not good for you. But they didn't know the extent of it. Also, doctors said back then that cocaine was not addictive. I would imagine being a musician and watching everyone do it, have all that fun, and boundless energy, it would be pretty hard to pass it up. I don't think I would have so it is a good thing I came of age later!

Villavic, this is an interesting thread, a subject that I've often thought about. Along the same lines, my mom often said that if she'd known how unhealthy cigarettes were she never would have started. I don't really believe that either, they had to know, in probably about 1967, that they were bad for you! I mean, once you start you can feel the difference in your lung capacity and all. :shrug:

[Villavic]

For some reason, I never thought that line from GDW referred to cocaine (spoon, grave). Although I can certainly see why it could, lol! I just thought it was a metaphor for something else.

In the Making Rumours special (1997), Stevie explicitily said GDW was about cocaine, (bad cocaine!) among other things (being in Fleetwood Mac is like being in the army, you HAVE to be there)...

And the silver spoon phrase reminded me the moon with the spoon in Studio 54.

[Travisevian]

I've often wondered about this as well. Stevie has discussed the naïveté of people in the 1970's but it must have occurred to them that they were using a substance that was illegal and could be detrimental. She once said, I believe, in an interview that she was specifically warned about heroin but no one ever told her that cocaine was bad, which is hard to believe.

As late as 1980, influential scientific writings reflected the prevailing non-critical assessment of the dangers of cocaine: The 1980 edition of the Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry asserted that cocaine posed no serious problem, if use was limited to two or three times a week.

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9712/appc.htm

Incredible! Thanks for sharing, David.

[markolas]

I agree that it was probably willful ignorance. I can't imagine them not knowing it was harmful, especially in the quantities they were using.

Sort of off-topic, but wasn't cocaine used medicinally at one time? I see pictures of those cute little porcelain cocaine jars from the 19th century - like it was part of a canister set or something (flour, sugar, coffee, tea, cocaine). Then of course, there was laudanum.

[jay]

They've all lived to tell the tale so it can't have been that bad.

[vivfox]

They've all lived to tell the tale so it can't have been that bad.


I guess it's ok for you to do it then.

[louielouie2000]

I think there really was a lot of ignorance about cocaine back in the height of Fleetwood Mac's fame. For instance, during that era, one of my Aunts got pregnant with her first son (1981). She asked her OB/GYN if she should stop her daily coke habit, if it would harm the baby. He said no, just use in moderation. So if even doctors during this era weren't sold on the harmful effects of coke, then you can certainly see why rock stars wouldn't be, either.

[Jondalar]

This is a great thread. I never believed that they thought cocaine was harmless. People were ODing back then too. I was just a little kid in the 70s and I knew cocaine was bad. I do not buy it all. It's like people trying to make excuses for themselves. Do they even need the excuses—**** happens.

[Hawkeye]

I agree that it was probably willful ignorance. I can't imagine them not knowing it was harmful, especially in the quantities they were using.

Sort of off-topic, but wasn't cocaine used medicinally at one time? I see pictures of those cute little porcelain cocaine jars from the 19th century - like it was part of a canister set or something (flour, sugar, coffee, tea, cocaine). Then of course, there was laudanum.

forget cocaine. Heroin was used medically in the 19th century.

And as a response to the original question, I'd say yes they thought it was harmless and really, were they wrong? I'm not condoning cocaine, and i've never done it but in the end, it really isn't even considered that much of a hardcore drug. maybe a small step over pot. How many cocaine overdoses have their been throughout history? if there were, more then likely it was cocaine plus something else. sure it burned a hole in stevie's nose but really it's just really strong powdered red bull.

[Nathan]

^^^

Cocaine is a dangerous, dangerous substance.
It think that it pretty regularly leads to cardiac arrest, brain anurisms, and insanity, does it not?

I remember a story that Tom Arnold on Larry King. He mentioned staying up for several days, and getting so far out there, that he found himself up against a mirror, trying to remove the thin membrane that covers the eye - with a razor blade.

I can personally speak to the incidious nature of a substance that you absolutely CAN NOT get enough of. I don't know, it's hard to explain, especially if YOU'VE NEVER DONE IT.

[Sorceress]

I think there really was a lot of ignorance about cocaine back in the height of Fleetwood Mac's fame. For instance, during that era, one of my Aunts got pregnant with her first son (1981). She asked her OB/GYN if she should stop her daily coke habit, if it would harm the baby. He said no, just use in moderation. So if even doctors during this era weren't sold on the harmful effects of coke, then you can certainly see why rock stars wouldn't be, either.

He probably thought she meant Coca-Cola!

[chiliD]

In1916, Douglas Fairbanks Sr starred as Detective Coke Ennyday in The Mystery Of The Leaping Fish. His character got "super powers" from his syringes of cocaine (similar to Popeye and his ubiquitous can of spinach) kept in the inner lining of his overcoat. (as well as big canisters of the powdered variety on his desk)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/The_Mystery_of_the_Leaping_Fish.jpg

It's actually a pretty good film...it plays at "midnight movies" quite a bit.

At the time the film was made, cocaine was LEGAL.

[desertangel]

I don't think harmless was the term they used, it's more like that it was not addictive. You could use it, or not and not have any withdrawls if you stopped using it. The big thing back then was heroin... they used to say if you used it once, you'll be hooked for life and end up on skid row. Kind of like modern day meth, except not everyone used heroin like half the country uses meth these days. Anyway, so cocaine was deemed non-addictive and lots of people used it with wreckless abandon, including me. :woohoo: -yea, those were the days.:rolleyes:

[vivfox]

I don't think harmless was the term they used, it's more like that it was not addictive. You could use it, or not and not have any withdrawls if you stopped using it. The big thing back then was heroin... they used to say if you used it once, you'll be hooked for life and end up on skid row. Kind of like modern day meth, except not everyone used heroin like half the country uses meth these days. Anyway, so cocaine was deemed non-addictive and lots of people used it with wreckless abandon, including me. :woohoo: -yea, those were the days.:rolleyes:


For me cocaine was a take it or leave it drug. I was first introduced to it in 1979. I used it occasionally and never purchased any. I always snorted someone else's. This one guy in 1987 gave me all I could handle in one night and I was satisfied enough to never use it again for 12 years. After that it was another few years and I never used it again after that. It never kept me up all night either.
Crystal Meth is a drug that I never wanted to try. I used to live with a tweeker and saw firsthand how destructive the drug was. Plus I always enjoyed getting a good night's sleep. The last thing I wanted was to stay awake for 3 days in a row.

[David]

I don't think harmless was the term they used, it's more like that it was not addictive. You could use it, or not and not have any withdrawls if you stopped using it. The big thing back then was heroin... they used to say if you used it once, you'll be hooked for life and end up on skid row. Kind of like modern day meth, except not everyone used heroin like half the country uses meth these days. Anyway, so cocaine was deemed non-addictive and lots of people used it with wreckless abandon, including me. :woohoo: -yea, those were the days.:rolleyes:

I used to drink all the juice out of the little bottles of maraschino cherries. I'd down the whole bottle in a few swigs. I was a rebel and a rogue.

[HomerMcvie]

I used to drink all the juice out of the little bottles of maraschino cherries. I'd down the whole bottle in a few swigs. I was a rebel and a rogue.

David, I'll teach you how to party...:woohoo:

[desertangel]

I used to drink all the juice out of the little bottles of maraschino cherries. I'd down the whole bottle in a few swigs. I was a rebel and a rogue.

gaahhh... formaldahyde. Do you look rather young for your age, by any chance? :lol:


I'd bet your ma would get p.o.'d at you for that... I did that once or twice and my ma came unhinged. She said the cherries would dry up and be no good.