During Prohibition, You Could Get a Doctor’s Note to Drink Booze, this is a reproduction of that original document. You will receive two forms that are identical in verbiage but the lighter colored form is the top of a carbonless set and the yellow form is the bottom of the carbonless copy, so you can use them as a carbon copy set or you can use them as two seperate documents. These are in no way collector quality copies but they are the perfect novelty gift for a retirement, a 21st birthday, a new job, special occasion, etc. your imagination is your only limit as to who would appreciate this historical reproduction as a present...maybe with a bottle of something to go with it ;).

 A little history about why and how the original forms were used:

In the 1920s, many physicians believed alcohol was one of the best medicinal remedies for all that ails you. They recommended their patients drink liquor to stimulate digestion, conserve tissue, help the heart, and increase energy. Doctors prescribed alcohol to patients of all ages. A typical adult dose was about 1 ounce every 2-3 hours. Child doses ranged from 1/2 to 2 teaspoons every three hours.

Alcohol was used as a tonic, stimulant, preventive remedy, and even to cure acute illnesses. Use varied considerably from doctor to doctor, but (possibly due to their availability and low cost) whiskey and brandy were used most often.

Alcohol was prescribed for a variety of ailments, including;

·         anemia,

·         asthma,

·         cancer,

·         depression,

·         diabetes,

·         high blood pressure,

·         heart disease,

·         old age,

·         indigestion,

·         typhoid,

·         pneumonia,

·         tuberculosis, and even

·         snakebites.

The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution took effect on January 16, 1920, known as the National Prohibition Act; it banned the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.” Throughout the 13 year ban, there were only a few legal exceptions;

·         farmers could produce wine for their own consumption,

·         priests, ministers, and rabbis could serve it during religious ceremonies, and

·         physicians could obtain a special permit from the U.S. Treasury Department to continue writing prescriptions for liquor.

Authorized physicians could then write prescriptions for medicinal alcohol on pads of government-issued prescription forms (like the one replicated here). Patients could then legally buy liquor from the pharmacy or physician. However, the law also regulated how much alcohol was prescribed to each patient. Every ten days, patients willing to pay about $3 for a prescription and another $3 or $4 to have it filled could get a pint of doctor-recommended alcohol!