ABSTRACT This article focuses on histories of one category of the many new synthetic drugs of the mid-twentieth century, which were variously termed hypnotics, sedatives and tranquillisers. I invoke Obliv(i)on as a metonym for pharmaceutical products now largely forgotten, for the general absence in our historiography of their significance, and for amnesia about the politics of pharmaceutical regulation in South Africa in the 1930s to 1960s. Along with antibiotics and hormones, by 1962, synthetic sedatives and tranquillisers were amongst the most frequently prescribed medical drugs in this country. As in many other countries they came to be amongst the fastest-selling, most desired, and on occasion, most dangerous new drugs of the post-war era. The article identifies a number of registers in which and moments when these sedatives became of pharmacological, professional or public interest, and sketches a chronology of their regulatory politics in South Africa in the mid-twentieth century. While South African markets remained limited, many local pharmacists, manufacturers, importers, and consumers were quick to embrace the therapeutic aspirations and chemical technologies of the time. In turn, they helped to accelerate multiple changes in a fulcrum period of the uneven emergence of ‘pharmaceutical modernity’ in South Africa.

中文翻译：

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Obliv[i]on C：镇静剂、时间表和“现代时代”的压力：南非药物政治，1930 年代至 1960 年代

摘要 本文重点介绍 20 世纪中叶许多新合成药物中的一类药物的历史，这些药物被不同地称为催眠药、镇静剂和镇静剂。我引用 Obliv(i)on 作为现在基本上被遗忘的药品的转喻，因为我们的历史编纂普遍缺乏它们的重要性，以及对 1930 年代至 1960 年代南非药品监管政治的健忘。到 1962 年，除抗生素和激素外，合成镇静剂和镇静剂已成为该国最常用的处方药之一。与许多其他国家一样，它们成为战后时代销售最快、最受欢迎、有时甚至是最危险的新药之一。这篇文章确定了这些镇静剂成为药理学、专业或公共利益的一些记录和时刻，并勾勒出 20 世纪中叶它们在南非的监管政策的年表。虽然南非市场仍然有限，但许多当地药剂师、制造商、进口商和消费者很快就接受了当时的治疗愿望和化学技术。反过来，它们在南非“制药现代性”不均衡出现的支点时期帮助加速了多重变化。消费者很快就接受了当时的治疗愿望和化学技术。反过来，它们在南非“制药现代性”不均衡出现的支点时期帮助加速了多重变化。消费者很快就接受了当时的治疗愿望和化学技术。反过来，它们在南非“制药现代性”不均衡出现的支点时期帮助加速了多重变化。