In the Casey Anthony trial that is happening now, we were introduced to “Zanny the Nanny” which is what Ms. Anthony called her fictitious babysitter. Anthony also called her babysitter Zenaida and said Zanny was short for that.

But, anyone who has been around the drug and alcohol field for a while will recognize that Zanny is also a nickname for the prescription drug Xanax. There are also many street drugs that have been given common nicknames and even marijuana is sometimes called by a human name Mary Jane.

Many years ago the Rolling Stones performed a song called “Mother’s Little Helper” which is about a woman using prescription drugs to help her make it through the day.

The Casey Anthony case is a little different in that Zanny, the mother’s little helper was alleged to have been used on Anthony’s daughter instead of herself. The chemical chloroform has also been implicated as an anesthetic that may have been used in this case.

In the Casey Anthony case the drug and alcohol abuse or addiction issues have not been yet fully addressed. It will be interesting in the weeks to come how chemicals, prescription or otherwise, has played a role in this trial.