A good hemp industry was important to the shipping industry. 1700s Hemp was the primary crop grown by George Washington at Mount Vernon, and a secondary crop grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. A law prohibiting the public sale of liquor is enacted in New York State. It is repealed in 1847. The American Medical Association is founded.
Opiates see widespread use as a pain killer for injured soldiers during the Civil War.
Opiates were the first real miracle drugs because they allowed the patient to be anesthetized while the doctor performed surgery. Before the advent of opiates, the most common surgery was a simple amputation. That is, the doctor got several big strong people to hold the patient down and then literally sawed off an arm or a leg while the patient screamed in pain. For this reason, a good doctor was a fast doctor. Battlefield hospitals during the Civil War commonly had large piles of severed arms and legs.