President Lincoln Used Cocaine

In 1860 president Lincoln walked into Corneau & Diller drug store in Springfield, Illinois and purchased 50 cents worth of Cocaine. The alkaloid had only been isolated from the cocoa plant 5 years earlier and had just been named “Cocaine,” by Albert Nieman a year before. Lincoln was one of the first Americans to use the new drug.

Harry E. Pratt found this fact when researching for his book, The Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln published in 1943. Pratt studied Corneau & Diller’s order books and found that on October 12, 1860 an order was filled for Lincoln in the amount of 50 cents for Cocaine. In fact, other historians found in earlier order books from the same drug company, that the Lincoln family had bought other powerful drugs in 1853, and 1854. The drugs they purchased in 1853 and 1854 were camphorated opium tincture used at the time for its anti-diarrheal and pain relief properties. The main ingredient in this drug was Morphine, a highly addictive and dangerous drug. But one must understand that little was known about drugs and their side effects at the time. Mary Lincoln experienced depression, mood swings, and hallucinations due to the drug use.

Source: Curious Events in History
Michael Powell

Uncategorized