Collection Spotlight

No matter how big or small, every artifact tells a story. While only a fraction of the objects and images in the Museum's collection, these eye-catching artifacts capture significant moments in the history of drugs and drug law enforcement.

A green bottle that once contained Vin Mariani, a coca wine.

Vin Mariani Bottle

A green glass bottle that once contained Vin Mariani, a French wine infused with coca leaves.

Thai Village Model

Seven hundred grams of heroin were secreted into the bottom of this wooden Thai village.

Tablet Press

A mechanical device that compresses powder into tablets of uniform size and weight.

Poppy Scrapper

A poppy scraper used by farmers to score and drain raw opium from poppy pods.

Pablo Escobar Life Mask

The life mask of notorious drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, a deceased leader of the Medellín Cartel.

Opium Pillow

A ceramic headrest used by people who smoked opium.

Opium Packing Stamp

An opium packing stamp used to mark packages of opium processed by a refinery in Afghanistan.

Opium Order Form

An early 20th-century order form for opium, an addictive narcotic.

A medicine bottle wrapped in tan, printed paper next to a colorful card featuring a woman and her two children looking at a newspaper advertisement.

Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup

An advertisement and bottle of Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, a patent medicine that contained morphine.

Morphine Syrette

A morphine syrette originally packaged in the medical kit of a World War II soldier.