Monday, Jul. 28, 1947

Happiness Pills

Happiness is now within the reach of everyone--everyone, that is, who wants to be a dope. In the British Medical Journal, a distinguished British psychiatrist named G. Tayleur Stockings announced that one capsule of pyrahexyl, a synthetic marijuana-like drug, taken each morning, would make the saddest sack happy.

But, as usual, there is a catch. Since pyrahexyl is a true drug, more potent than marijuana, Dr. Stockings does not prescribe it for people who are just uncomplicatedly unhappy. He gave pyrahexyl in small daily doses (60 to 90 milligrams--equivalent to two or three marijuana cigarets) to 50 depressed patients who had not been helped by psychotherapy. Result: 36 of the 50 felt much better, forgot their vague aches & pains, took a cheerful new lease on life. But the drug was not a permanent cure, and in big doses, it seems to be habit-forming.

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