‘Mickey Mouse and the Medicine Man’, was a mini comic book that was part of a promotional collaboration between Walt Disney and General Mills.
In the comic, Mickey and Goofy try a new medicine called ‘Peppo’, which was a brand of amphetamine (speed).
Their enthusiasm for the pick-me-up they received from Peppo takes them an adventure to Africa to sell it to the locals. The strip also features various characters eating ‘hash’ which knocks them out.
During the 1950’s, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream media. At the time, many amphetamines were available over the counter without a prescription, including Benzedrine. It wasn’t until the mid-60s when these were made prescription only and non-medical amphetamine wasn’t outlawed until 1971.
