After many failed attempts at getting the United States population to stop drinking and doing drugs, the government has failed again. One of the first attempts was during the years of prohibition. In an attempt to make the U.S. a “dry” nation, the government eliminated businesses that manufactured, distributed, and sold alcohol. Unfortunately, this did not stop people from drinking. Bootleggers, gangsters, rumrunners, and speakeasies began to take over society, making it possible for Americans to consume the banned alcohol they desired. When the government caught on that their plan wasn’t working, federal officials tried to scare the public by poisoning industrial alcohols that were regularly stolen by bootleggers for illegal consumption. Little did they know that this would lead to more than 10,000 deaths by the time prohibition was put to an end.

Acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol, has come to have a similar effect on the public. Acetaminophen is one of the chemical components of Vicodin, a common painkiller used both medically and recreationally. Vicodin contains another chemical called hydrocodone, which is an opioid analgesic related to morphine and heroin. By itself, acetaminophen does not add much to the effect of Vicodin, the real effect is found within the hydrocodone.

Acetaminophen, however, is extremely toxic; overdose from acetaminophen is the leading cause of acute liver failure and accounts for some 35,000 unintentional overdoses each year. Typically, there is between 500 and 750 milligrams of acetaminophen in Vicodin. It is recommended that a person does not consume more than 4000 milligrams of acetaminophen a day, and consuming any more than that can lead to liver failure or an overdose. At the lowest dosage of Vicodin, it would require only 8 pills to come dangerously close to the maximum recommended amount of acetaminophen per day. It is easier to overdose on acetaminophen than many people think.

Acetaminophen, however, was not always one of the components in Vicodin. On October 27, 1970 President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act. This made it either easier or more difficult to obtain a drug based on how likely that drug was to be abused. Through this act drugs were grouped into five different Schedules (classifications) based on its potential for abuse. Without the added acetaminophen Vicodin would be classified in a specific Schedule since the government thought this would make it more likely to be abused. To avoid production delays and problems with the Food and Drug Administration, manufactures added the acetaminophen in order to get a schedule III classification, thinking that adding the acetaminophen would make it less likely to be abused. This made it easier for medical professionals to prescribe the drug, easier for the patient to get the drug, and made it cheaper for companies to produce it. So, essentially the government is poisoning the public with acetaminophen to stop them from poisoning themselves with Vicodin.

Surprisingly, the government added a toxic chemical to a drug to dissuade people from abusing it. Sound familiar?