Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Books from WHO and PAHO on Alcohol and Harm

Unhappy Hours: Alcohol and Partner Aggression in the Americas, by (Editors) Kahryn Graham; Sharon Bernards; Myriam Munne; Sharon Wilsnack, June, 2009, The Pan American Health Organization, "brings to light evidence of alcohol's impact on partner aggression from 10 countries in the Americas (Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay, and the United States)"

Alcohol and Injuries, Emergency Department Studies in an International Perspective, May, 2010, The World Health Organization "synthesizes the results of studies from a number of hospital emergency departments conducted in different cultural settings, including the World Health Organization s Collaborative Study on Alcohol and Injuries."

Mexican heroin dealer and US drug enforcement (article)

Elaine Carey, "'Selling is More of a Habit than Using': Narcotraficante Lola la Chata and her Threat to Civilziation, 1930-1960," Journal of Women's History 21/2 (Summer 2009).

Heineken buys Mexican brewery

In a multi-billion dollar deal the Dutch brewery Heineken beat out MillerSAB to purchase the brewery operations of the Mexican firm Femsa which brews Dos Equis and Tecate beers.  For more, see here.

Ritual intoxicants among Yucatec Maya, 1550-1780 (article)

John F. Chuchiak (Missouri State University), "‘It is their Drinking that Hinders Them’: Balché and the Use of Ritual Intoxicants among the Colonial Yucatec Maya, 1550-1780” in Estudios de Cultura Maya, vol. 24 [Centro de Estudios Mayas, México: Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas] (Fall 2004): 1-43.

Mexico's national anti-alcohol campaign, 1934-1940 (article)

Gretchen Pierce, "Parades, Epistles and Prohibitive Legislation: Mexico's National Anti-Alcohol Campaign and the Process of State-Building, 1934-1940," Social History of Alcohol and Drugs 23/2 (Spring 2009): 151-180.  Last 13 pages provide 110 endnotes.

Alcohol & Drugs in North America (call for contributors)

Call for Contributors

ALCOHOL AND DRUGS IN NORTH AMERICA: A HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

David M. Fahey (History, Miami University) and Jon Miller (English, University of Akron) are editing a two-volume reference work for ABC-CLIO. It will explore the history of the production, distribution, sale, and consumption of alcohol and other drugs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The encyclopedia will include the history of temperance movement, the regulation of alcohol and drugs, and a broad range of private and public organizations addressing the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs. By "drugs" we mean unregulated, regulated, and (currently) illegal drugs. The study of the history of alcohol and drugs includes the cultural representation of their use and opposition to them, as well as commercial advertising. Many articles will be brief biographies (told from the perspective of alcohol, temperance, or drug history), business histories, or accounts of major legislation concerning the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Articles will vary in length from 4000 to 600 words, including brief bibliographies.

The editors invite contributions from senior and junior scholars, including graduate students, in all disciplines interested in alcohol, temperance, and drugs. Please see below for a list of planned entries. An asterisk means that an entry is not yet assigned. The editors welcome suggestions for additional entries.

All entries will credit the author. The encyclopedia will be published both as a printed book and as an e-book.

Although most contributors should not expect payment, contributors who publish an article or articles adding up to 4000 words will receive a modest honorarium. Details will be available when a prospective contributor offers to join the project. Please identify the entries desired and provide a brief CV; a paragraph or two should suffice.

David M. Fahey [email protected]


Jon Miller [email protected]

List of articles here. 

Latin American theme for Social History of Alcohol and Drugs (Spring 2009)

The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs 23/2 (Spring 2009) focuses on Latin America with articles on Brazil, the Andean countries, and Mexico.  The book reviews cover many parts of the world. Details later.

Mexico's "magic mint" bittersweet hallucinogen

USA Today, 22 June 09, reports about the powerful hallucinogen salvia divinorum, known as magic mint.  In a district of Mexico south of the capital traditional Mazatec medicine men used magic mushrooms, salvia leaves, and psychedelic seeds of morning glories to diagnose illnesses.

Merchants of inebriation (conference papers)

World History Association conference, Salem, Massachusetts, June 25-28, 2009.

session, Merchants of Inebriation: The Global Distribution of Alcoholic Beverages

Jai Kharbanda (Queen Mary College, University of London), Algave-based Drinks in Mexico and Abroad after the Conquest

Malcolm Purinton (independent scholar), Colonial Beer: The Birth of India Pale Ale

Connie R. Hudgeons (Albuqueque high school), Inbibing History: Two Lessons about Beverages in World Trade

Mexico City's Pulquerias (dissertation)

Maria Aurea Toxqui Garay, "'El Recreo de los Amigos': Mexico City"s Pulquerias during the Liberal Republic (1856-1911)" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Arizona, 2008).