Drugs and Pharmacy in the Life of Georgia, 1733-1959

Book excerpt: Published in 1959, Robert Wilson's account of the development of the Georgia pharmacy system begins with the founding of the state and explains that the search for drugs was a main factor in the original colonization. As he traces the evolution of medicine, Wilson identifies the pioneering figures of pharmacy in Georgia, disease and drug problems that confronted the colony, self-diagnosis and home treatment, epidemics, and the advertising and sale of medicinal products. Wilson describes the struggles Georgia encountered, including the development of a State Board of Health, as it was created in 1875, disbanded in 1877, and resurrected twenty-five years later. He also highlights Georgia's many accomplishments, including granting a woman a pharmaceutical license in 1903.