Keith Richards just turned 67 on December 18. New Musical Express was so wrong

 

Merck Cocaine: Behind Some Of Those Fabulous Rolling Stones Songs

Guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire Keith Richards should have died a long time ago. He was a heroin addict for many years, which earned him the number one spot for ten years on New Musical Express’ list of rock stars most likely to die. He was also an aficionado of Merck cocaine—the pharmaceutical kind, a pure luxury compared to the street powder. In his autobiography Life, Richards confesses that the Rolling Stones’ 1975 tour was “fueled by Merck cocaine. It was when we initiated the building of hideaways behind the speakers on the stage so that we could have lines between songs.”

As Richards lets his supplier describe it (because the rocker’s memory is dim in that passage):

“Pharmaceutical cocaine cannot be compared in any way to cocaine produced in Central or South America. It is pure, does not bring on depression or lethargy. A totally different type of euphoria, one of creativity, exists immediately when it is absorbed by the central nervous system. There are absolutely no withdrawal symptoms.” 

Funny, another celebrity rhapsodized very much the same way about pharmaceutical cocaine; no, not Eric Clapton. He worked in another industry, and in much earlier times. In 1884, Sigmund Freud wrote Uber Coca. This is what he said:

“…exhilaration and lasting euphoria, which in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person…You perceive an increase of self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work….In other words, you are simply normal, and it is soon hard to believe you are under the influence of any drug….Long intensive physical work is performed without any fatigue…This result is enjoyed without any of the unpleasant after-effects that follow exhilaration brought about by alcohol….Absolutely no craving for the further use of cocaine appears after the first, or even after repeated taking of the drug…”

The name Merck cocaine has stuck, ever since Merck of Germany became a major supplier of the stuff starting in the early 1800s, according to Steven Karch’s A Brief History of Cocaine. (Its American subsidiary split off after World War I). In the U.S., Parke-Davis—now part of Pfizer was the dominant player. Karch says that both Merck and Parke-Davis paid Freud to test cocaine, and endorse their product. He obviously came through.

When not consumed by artists, pharmaceutical cocaine is typically used as a local anesthetic, especially by ear, nose, and throat doctors.

PS: Keith Richards just turned 67 on December 18. New Musical Express was so wrong.