LOS ANGELES - Back in the old days, anxieties about the economy and dwindling jobs were dealt with by drinking to excess and then beating the kids or kicking the dog.

"A candy-colored clown they call the Sandman ..."

We live in more enlightened times now, and there’s a whole pharmacopeia devoted to cooling out the nervous, the anxious and those who just want to cop a buzz and manage a few hours of escape.

The Los Angeles Times breaks it all down for you.

But we here at the Boom Times want to remind you that none of our current problems are going to get fixed and nothing is going to get done if we’re all going to fall into a stupor and wallow in self-pity when things get tough.