It Looks Innocent Enough,

one of so many 'snake oil' cures,

for sale during the prohibition, image from the Library of Congress, the tonic had many ingredients including herbal extracts, opium, cocaine, turpentine, and mineral oil, but most importantly of all, huge amounts of alcohol, up to 90% in certain cases, as you can imagine in the days of prohibition this stuff literally flew off of the shelves, but there was a downside to this elixir, Dr. W.H. Miles of the Oklahoma City Health Board was familiar with methanol poisoning, but he and his assistant Dr. Ephraim Goldfain began seeing cases of paralysis in 1930 that they suspected were from drinking alcohol, yet the symptoms differed from anything they'd seen before, from the article,

the strange paralysis exhibited by Dr. Miles and Dr. Goldfain’s patients was something completely new. After tracking down and investigating more than 60 cases, the pair soon noticed an intriguing pattern: all the victims were regular users of Jamaica Ginger, a popular brand of Patent Medicine. Patent Medicines were a type of proprietary cure-all sold over-the-counter in most drugstores. These could contain all kinds of substances, including herbal extracts, opium, cocaine, turpentine, and mineral oil, but not – strangely enough – actual snake oil. But one ingredient nearly all brands had in common was copious amounts of alcohol – up to 90% in certain cases. This had made Patent Medicines a popular source of alcohol in dry counties for decades. Jamaica Ginger was especially popular among poor labourers in the South. Boasting a 90% alcohol content and costing only 35 cents a bottle, it was typically mixed with soft drinks at soda fountains to help cut down its strong bitter flavour. Among drinkers the concoction was commonly known as ‘Jake’, and the paralysis it caused soon came to be known as ‘Jake Leg’ or ‘Jake Walk’

but while the link between Jake consumption and paralysis was convincing, it was also puzzling. Jamaica Ginger had been sold since 1863 without any negative effects. What had changed? for the surprising answer to the malady that affected the 4837 cases of Jake Paralysis that were recorded, mostly in Southern states such as Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, but the actual number affected is thought to be much higher – between 30,000 and 50,000, have a look here.