The American Civil War resulted in massive numbers of injured and ill soldiers. Throughout the conflict, medical doctors relied on opium to treat these conditions, giving rise to claims that the injudicious use of the narcotic caused America’s post-bellum opium crisis. Similar claims of medical misuse of opioids are now made as America confronts the modern narcotic crisis. A more nuanced thesis based on a broader base of Civil War era research suggests a more complex set of interacting factors that collectively contributed to America’s post-war opium crisis.

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美国内战医疗实践、战后鸦片危机和现代比较

美国内战导致大量受伤和生病的士兵。在整个冲突期间，医生依靠鸦片来治疗这些疾病，因此有人声称不明智地使用麻醉剂导致了美国战后鸦片危机。随着美国面临现代麻醉品危机，类似的关于阿片类药物滥用的说法现在也出现了。基于更广泛的内战时期研究基础的更细致的论文表明，一系列更复杂的相互作用因素共同促成了美国的战后鸦片危机。