These Casual Cocaine Ads Show How Lit the '70s Were

People in the '70s knew how to party.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It seems like every drug had their decade. Right now, the ‘2010s are all about marijuana while the ‘2000s really loved their prescription pills. Clubbers in the ‘90s got their high from ecstasy and the ‘80s saw the meteoric rise of crack (a freebase form of cocaine) following the glamorization of cocaine in the ‘70s. And it’s that decade in which the Netflix series Narcos is based, following the life of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar.

Inspired by its illicit subject matter, fans of the crime drama dug up old ads from drug magazines that were published from 1976 to 1981 and posted their findings to the art and culture site The World's Best Ever. According to Adweek, the images have surfaced in places like London-based magazine Don't Panic and in an Imgur gallery on the front page on Reddit.

While cocaine was most definitely not legal, drug paraphernalia ads are generally allowed in the U.S.—save for a few states ( e.g. Ohio and Nebraska have specific ads prohibiting them).

The World’s Best Ever hosts the complete gallery but some of our favorites are listed below.  


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