Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2009
It is difficult to determine when drug regulation began. The idea that some kind of control is necessary is very old indeed; it was many centuries ago that apothecaries were first accused of paternalism and secrecy, and it was just as long ago that they found arguments to present their case as guardians of the public interest. It was at least three centuries ago that regulations on the sale of opiates were first devised in order to protect the ignorant, the reckless, and the exploited.