Pouring illegal liquor down the drain. Prohibition of the consumption and sale of alcohol was in force during the whole country during World War I. Not drinking was considered to be a patriotic duty. liquor could still be sold in Alberta by private licence until 1916. This meant that almost every community could decide whether or not to sell it. However, the sale of liquor was banned completely in Alberta from 1916 to 1923. Any liquor was seized and disposed of , usually by pouring it into ditches, or in cities, down manholes.
This prohibition of alcohol posed some problems for medical men. Most people believed that alcohol could both cure and prevent many diseases. This was evident during the Spanish flu epidemic when many people consumed large quantities of alcohol in the belief that it would confer immunity from that plague.
And doctors such as Robert knew that, used for medicinal purposes, alcohol was a useful addition to their medical bags. Brandy, for example, was used as a cardiac stimulant to help those in shock, such as accident victims, of whom there were many as a result of mining or farming accidents. Further, many doctors felt that the prohibition of alcohol for medical use was another infringement of the government on doctors' right to treat their patients as they felt best.
The government tried to get around this by allowing doctors to prescribe alcohol, which of course, led to other problems.
Robert was himself a teetotaller for a number of personal reasons and his wife Jennie was firmly opposed to drinking, but he always carried a small flask of brandy in his medical bag and used pure alcohol as a disinfectant for his surgical instruments when he could not sterilize them in any other way.
To learn more about alcohol and prohibition go to:
http://www.herbmuseum.ca/content/medicinal-alcohol-canada-during-prohibition
And doctors such as Robert knew that, used for medicinal purposes, alcohol was a useful addition to their medical bags. Brandy, for example, was used as a cardiac stimulant to help those in shock, such as accident victims, of whom there were many as a result of mining or farming accidents. Further, many doctors felt that the prohibition of alcohol for medical use was another infringement of the government on doctors' right to treat their patients as they felt best.
The government tried to get around this by allowing doctors to prescribe alcohol, which of course, led to other problems.
Robert was himself a teetotaller for a number of personal reasons and his wife Jennie was firmly opposed to drinking, but he always carried a small flask of brandy in his medical bag and used pure alcohol as a disinfectant for his surgical instruments when he could not sterilize them in any other way.
To learn more about alcohol and prohibition go to:
http://www.herbmuseum.ca/content/medicinal-alcohol-canada-during-prohibition
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