Not real sure just how much better PCP or heroin were but if you say so.
Strychnine was cheaper and easier to obtain and roughly duplicated some of the effects of hallucinogens and cocaine.
Strychnine was popularly used as an athletic
performance enhancer and
recreational stimulant in the late 19th century and early 20th century, due to its
convulsant effects. One notorious instance of its use was during the
1904 Olympics marathon, when track-and-field athlete
Thomas Hicks was unwittingly administered a concoction of egg whites and brandy laced with a small amount of strychnine by his assistants in a vain attempt to boost his stamina. Hicks won the race, but was hallucinating<a href="
Strychnine - Wikipedia
Maximilian Theodor Buch proposed it as a cure for alcoholism around the same time. It was thought to be similar to coffee,
Its effects are well-described in
H. G. Wells' novella
The Invisible Man: the title character states "Strychnine is a grand tonic ... to take the flabbiness out of a man." Dr Kemp, an acquaintance, replies: "It's the devil. It's the palaeolithic in a bottle."<a href="
https://en.wikipedia