Drug use is a societal issue that dates to ________.

• A. 2240 BC
• B. The beginning of recorder time
• C. 500 BC
• D. The early 1960s

Answer: (A)

Drug use as a social behavior has deep historical roots, stretching far back into ancient civilizations. Evidence from Mesopotamia around 2240 BCE shows that intoxicants were part of people’s lives in religious, medicinal, and everyday contexts, not just a modern phenomenon. Texts and artifacts from that era reference substances used for healing and ritual, illustrating that societies grappled with drug-related issues thousands of years ago. This makes the date around 2240 BCE the best-supported point for when drug use appears in the historical record, far earlier than later periods.

The other options point to times that are either much later or too vague to anchor the long history of drug use. The early 1960s is modern and misses the long-standing nature of the issue, while 500 BCE or the broad notion of the “beginning of recorded time” don’t align with the specific concrete evidence of ancient use.