History
IV drug use is a relatively recent phenomenon arising from the invention of re-usable syringes and the synthesis of chemically pure morphine and cocaine.
It was noted that administering drugs intravenously strengthened their effect and since such drugs as heroin and cocaine were already being used to treat a wide variety of ailments, many patients were given injections of "hard" drugs for such ailments as alcoholism and depression.
By the time of Aleister Crowley intravenous drug culture already had a small, but loyal following. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes that Sherlock Holmes used to inject cocaine to occupy his mind between cases.
Read more about this topic: Drug Injection
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