So the way pills were used in the past was, to us in the modern day, a little scary. Take "The Pill Factory" in Wenomah.
"The Pill Factory" after a 1969 fire.
"The discovery of amphetamine energized the weight loss industry. Introduced as the Benzedrine inhaler in 1932 by venerable Philadelphia firm S
"mith, Kline, and French, the American Medical Association (AMA) soon recognized Benzedrine as a treatment of narcolepsy, postencephaletic Parkinsonism, and certain depressive psychopathic conditions.9 Several clinical studies first published in the late 1930s demonstrated amphetamine's anorectic effect.10 The Clark & Clark Company of Camden, NJ, established in 1941, was one of the earliest manufacturers of diet pills combining amphetamine sulfate and thyroid along with phenobarbital, aloin, and atropine sulfate to counteract untoward effects.11 These diet pills, marketed as Clarkotabs, were among the first mass-produced rainbow pills (Figure 1).
The Pill Factory was accused of patent infringement -- drug wars of a sort --- right in Wenonah -- 1. “Supplementary Factory Inspection Report,” 5 March 1943, attached to O. Olsen to Chief, New York Station, 16 March 1943, AF 10-762 (Clark & Clark), vol. 1, Files, Food and Drug Administration, Suitland, MD. Clark & Clark reformulated its Clarkotabs with methamphetamine later in the decade upon being sued by Smith, Kline and French for patent infringement. See Rasmussen, “America's First Amphetamine Epidemic,” 975; and Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry, “Drugs for Obesity,” Journal of the American Medical Association 134 (1947): 527–529. Rasmussen, On Speed, 106 ff., discusses Smith, Kline and French's strategy to litigate amphetamine interlopers, such as Clark & Clark. [Ref list]
Selling the pills was done in certain unusual ways.
EXPANDING THE US MARKET FOR RAINBOW PILLS, 1940S TO 1970S
From 1940 to 1950, several other small firms formed for the same purpose, including Western Research Laboratories of Denver,12 the Lanpar Company of Dallas (1950), and Mills Pharmaceuticals of St Louis (1950). These firms were all novices to the business of pharmaceuticals, yet all committed to finding a foothold in a unique approach to weight loss, an approach that the larger and established companies appeared to avoid. These manufacturers did not have the standing with the medical profession that the traditional so-called ethical manufacturers enjoyed. For example, the Dallas County Medical Society and the Texas Medical Association would not accept advertising from a rainbow pill manufacturer that was located in its own backyard, nor would the societies allow the firms to exhibit at their meetings.13
A number of unusual marketing methods set the rainbow pill companies apart from most of the pharmaceutical industry. For example, there were the brightly colored tablets and capsules. Clark & Clark's Clarkotabs came in green, white, blue, pink, gray, and yellow tablets (Figure 1). Firms manufactured different formulations of their diet pills and many formulations came in a half dozen or more different colors. The use of colorful pills was not just aesthetic, but also an important part of the regimen, as a Lanpar brochure explained to prescribers:
You should have at least more than one color of every medication because [imagine] here come two women together. Do not give them the same color tablet. Don't let them go out and say, “Well, all you have got to do is get those blue pills.” Give one of them blue and one of them pink. After all, it is individual medication for that patient. That's a little psychology and is well worth it … it is particularly designed for them.14
Despite the fact that patients moved in and out of the office with little history-taking or evaluation of any form, the fanciful variety of rainbow pill colors was intended to avoid the perception of factory-line therapeutics. Instead, the rainbow colors suggested personalized attention, a treatment uniquely crafted for the patient's individual weight loss requirements; a clearly insidious version of what might otherwise be termed “personalized medicine” today. The patient typically would leave the office with several dozen tablets in a variety of colors.
Rainbow diet pill formulations varied over the years both within a firm's portfolio as well as between firms. Although there was no standard formulation, the pills usually contained a selection of d-amphetamine, chlorthalidone, and thyroid hormone as weight loss agents, and digitalis, barbiturates, potassium, glandular extracts, and belladonna were added to counter side effects (Table 1).15 Particularly troubling was the dosage of medicines a patient might receive. Some dosages were excessive and led to severe complications, such as the death of a 19-year-old who was prescribed a daily regimen of 650 milligrams desiccated thyroid, 50 milligrams digitalis leaf, 25 milligrams amphetamine, 50 milligrams chlorthalidone, and 500 milligrams potassium.16"
Cache is located at the posted coordinate, but it'll take a little bit of work to get to the log. Please don't log unless you sign the cache! Will be easier to solve during certain weather than during other weather.
Wenonah Woods is open dawn to dusk, 365 days a year. Please respect the hours on these trails, especially as they often times pass right along the edges of people's property. Also, please use official trailheads and do not cut through people's property. These trails have some ups and downs, as well as some wet spots, although the town does an amazing job of maintaining them.
Thanks to SuperC00lGuy for the help with these caches!