Bad guys weren't hopped up on meth and crack and what not back in the good old days.
Actualy one of the most common drugs during the time of the "Wild West" was laudanum which is essentialy a strong concentration of opium and alcohol in a bottle. It was available without a prescription over the counter in most towns from the local drug store.
At the time it was primarily considered a working class or blue collar drug when abused as it was often much cheaper than alcohol.
As a result many people that could not afford an alcohol problem resorted to it. Being a strong opiate the result was similar to heroine addicts.
It had been widespread in the US since early times, Ben Franklin for example used it regularly due to chronic pain as was considered an addict.
Laudanum use was much more widespread then than drug use is today. It was used by most households in the US as a cure all for aches and pains. Even given to infants to relax them during teething or when crying at night, and marketed for that purpose.
In the mid to late 1800s other drugs were also common. Cocaine was a common drug abused by housewives in the late 1800s. It was considered a cure by many for almost anything and recommended by physicians regularly.
Here is a picture of some sold from your local drug store over the counter:
It was often marketed for use with children.
Of course that should be no surprise, most Attention Deficit medication today marketed at children is stimulants, primarily Amphetamines (such as ritalin) or similarly acting compounds.
In the 1800s the Chinese settlers also brought with them a lot of Opium smoking and use. China was widely addicted to opium smoking and the British had several wars with the Chinese government to keep it that way. They are known today as the Opium Wars. So most immigrants from China brought the habit with them and it flourished on the western frontier.
Morphine addiction prior to Bayer creating Heroin as a cure was widespread in the mid to late 1800s. It was most common among veterans because they often had widespread use of it during conflicts. Whether from use after being wounded or to dull the stress and problems of war it was a major widespread problem.
It was such a common problem that after the American Civil War of the 1800s it was known as "soldiers' disease".
You better believe someone under the effects of what is essentialy a strong pain killer is not going to be as effected by a gunshot.
Criminals commiting crimes while under the effects of substances is nothing new.
However per capita the murder and violent crime rates back then where much lower even when unregulated drugs were widespread.
The wild west is something of a myth, in that violent crime rates were much lower then than in most major American cities today.
You are far more likely to be the victim of violent crime today in your local downtown city than in any rough frontier town of the "Wild West" and statistics prove this.
