Marilyn Monroe's Bedside Table and The Birth of "Drug Abuse"

On August 6 1962, while the front page of The New York Times was filled with news of Marilyn’s death, the paper also published a White House press release confirming the dates of its upcoming conference. The announcement included an updated name for the event, labeling it a conference on “Narcotic and Drug Abuse.” Though few would have noticed, the American public thus learned of the death of Marilyn Monroe on the same day the nation’s leadership and newspaper of record both used the term “drug abuse” for the first time.