The first of the “big three,” alcohol was first discovered around 5000 B.C. and by 1500 B.C., was commercially produced throughout medieval Europe and Russia by way of Orthodoxy from Greece in the form of

The second of the “big three,” tobacco, originated in the Americas by the native Americans found by Columbus’ crew in 1492 (Courtwright, 14). In Europe, it caught attention as an exotic medicine and stylish habit. The main cause for the spread of tobacco was sailors who smoked wherever they traveled. Sailors took it to the Philippines where it quickly became a cash crop. Of course, as we now know, tobacco caught on due to its addictive nicotine content. China was one of the most receptive to tobacco after its introduction in 1600. By 1620, tobacco was an established global crop (Courtwright, 15). Especially when tobacco began mass production in the American colonies and tobacco became cheaper, worldwide consumption was reached. Tobacco was the first drug that reached across all social classes, making it highly profitable. It overcame its side effects of foul breath, stained teeth, and fire risk as well as the test of time (Courtwright, 16). Tobacco never went out of fashion in Europe. Even today, despite continued education about the effects of smoking, it still holds its own all over the world. Education and anti-smoking ads have resulted in reduction of smoking, but not on a worldwide level.

Distilled alcohol was discovered by the eleventh century around Greece and the Middle East. Ships carried it and its technology wherever they traveled (Courtwright, 13). Alcohol found immediate success wherever it was introduced because of its psychoactive effects and relative ease to produce. Alcohol never took off in Asia as much as other places due to a genetic aversion to alcohol in about half of all Asians (Courtwright, 10). However, both distilleries and vineyards flourished almost everywhere alcohol was known. Alcohol became a staple of the global economy. It has survived moral scrutiny and attempts at prohibition and government regulation to remain one of the “big three” drugs of the world.

In America, marijuana made its entrance through Mexican laborers in the Southwest. Its reputation preceded it. By 1930, only after 20 years since its introduction, peddlers could be found on every street corner in Louisiana (Courtwright, 43). The popularity of cigarettes and plentiful supply properly prepped America for the marijuana complex, a variation on the ganja complex. The marijuana complex referred to the use of cannabis by Americans solely to “get high.” Marijuana is used for nothing else in the American culture. Marijuana use in the United States has maintained an underground popularity. The making of marijuana illegal hindered severely the growth of the drug in the states. Even though, marijuana is still plentiful in the U.S. due to smuggling from Mexico and more recently, Canada. The teen dominance in population

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