Sigmund Freud struggled with a cocaine addiction in the late 19th century

Sigmund Freud struggled with a cocaine addiction in the late 19th century. He initially experimented with the drug in 1884, praising it as a "miracle drug" for depression and fatigue, and advocating for its use. However, this led to years of personal substance abuse before he eventually quit in the mid-1890s. In the 1880s, before cocaine’s addictive properties were understood, Freud was an enthusiastic advocate of the drug, regularly used it himself, and freely shared and recommended it to his fiancée, friends, and patients.