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Essay on history of drugs
Opium in the 19th century
Opium in the 19th century
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Heroin is a powerful and dangerous drug that can alter both your brain and vital organs, which can influence our mental health and our human behavior. It’s the second largest death producing drug besides cocaine, it affects over 650,000 addicts in the United States alone.The creation of Heroin starts from a Asian poppy plant, specifically, Papaver Somniferum. The latex that immature pods secrete when cut are created into morphine, which is then treated and created into Heroin or Diacetylmorphine. (Pamphlet)
During its first uses, the opium, which is derived from the latex that immature pods secrete when cut, was used to treat diarrhea and headaches. These uses stretch back to around 3400 B.C. and was first used in Mesopotamia, then spread rapidly to the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and then the Egyptians. The Opium became an important factor in the Egyptian trade; so much that it spread into Greece, Carthage, India, Persia, and China. Overtime the problem increased as its recreational use skyrocketed, making it such an issue China banned it and it caused two wars, named the Opium Wars; between Britain and China dealing with the trade of Opium on Chinese territory.
When first introduced to the world, Heroin was made as a non-addictive substitute to morphine, which proved to be the opposite of the intended cause. (Deeney) Used as a cough suppressant and the non-addictive substitute, it was first tested on dogs and rabbits. Causing slower respiratory action slowing, and heart function was diminished and almost seen as abnormal due to the heartbeat. Heroin was seen to be much more addictive than Morphine itself. This caused the government to control the sale and distribution, making it illegal outside of the government's k...
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...is, abscesses, liver disease, pneumonia, as well as complications of lung and brain function. There is a lot of effects on the skin as well, with injection sites full of holes; as well as harming the skin much like methamphetamine, leaving the addicts disfigured and destroyed, mentally and physically.
Works Cited
"Heroin." Pamphlet by: National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1999. 1. Student Resources in Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
"Heroin." Drugs and Controlled Substances: Information for Students. Ed. Stacey L. Blachford and Kristine Krapp. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Student Resources in Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2014
Deeney, Jeff. "Hoffman and the Terrible Heroin Deaths in the Shadows." The Atlantic. The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. ,
"Heroin Statistics." Michaels House. Michaels House, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
Chasing Heroin is a two-hour documentary that investigates America’s heroin crisis. The documentary details the opioid epidemic and how police offers, social workers, and public defenders are working to save the lives of addicts. The documentary explores the origins and continuing causes behind the heroin epidemic such as; massive increases in opioid painkillers starting at the turn of the century, Mexican drug cartels who are now rooted in upper-middle-class neighborhoods, and the cheap price of heroin when compared to prescription pain killers. A program in Seattle called LEAD is explored. This program channels addicts into a system that points them toward help (rehab, temporary housing, counseling, methadone treatment) instead of prison
Back then, people were convinced that heroin was not as addictive as morphine and was safer for people to consume. Obviously that’s not the case. The scary thing is heroin isn’t that different from morphine, yet doctors are okay with giving patients morphine. I think with a drug that is so addictive, doctors need to be more vigilant on who they use morphine on, even when it comes to medical procedures. Back in the early 1900’s, when people weren’t truly aware of the effects of heroin, it might have been okay for them to use it to help people suffering from severe pain. In this day and time, heroin is widely abused and not used for its’ original intentions. Heroin has become a recreational drug of choice for people, not something they use to treat
In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act, that was years in the making was finally passed under President Roosevelt. This law reflected a sea change in medicine-- an unprecedented wave of regulations. No longer could drug companies have a secret formula and hide potentially toxic substances such as heroin under their patent. The law required drug companies to specify the ingredients of medications on the label. It also regulated the purity and dosage of substances. Not by mere coincidence was the law passed only about five years after Bayer, a German based drug company began selling the morphine derivative, heroin. Thought to be a safe, non-habit forming alternative to morphine, heroin quickly became the “cure-all drug” that was used to treat anything from coughs to restlessness. Yet, just as quickly as it became a household staple, many began to question the innocence of the substance. While the 1906 law had inherent weaknesses, it signaled the beginning of the end for “cure-all” drugs, such as opiate-filled “soothing syrups” that were used for infants. By tracing and evaluating various reports by doctors and investigative journalists on the medical use of heroin, it is clear that the desire for this legislative measure developed from an offshoot in the medical community-- a transformation that took doctors out from behind the curtain, and brought the public into a new era of awareness.
The Opium Wars were a series of three wars between the Chinese and the British; primarily fought in regard to the illegal trade of opium in China during the 19th century. They manifested the conflicting natures of both nations and demonstrated China’s misconceptions of its own superiority. The Opium Wars resulted in the humiliating defeat of the Chinese to a country they considered to be “barbarians”.
Where did this drug come from and what makes it different from any other drug that is on the market? Heroin's origins go back long before Christ was a bleep on the radar. It goes back to 1200 B.C. Or the Bronze Age. At that time how ever heroin would be known as its chemically altered state of the poppy seeds. Even at that time however the ancient peoples of that time knew that if the poppy seeds juice were collected and dried. the extract that was left behind could make a effective painkiller. This would later be named opium. There were small incidents of it appearing in Europe, for instance it was used by the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. But as a whole it would take more then a millennium for opium to travel from the Middle East to the Europe. This only occurred do to crusades. In just a few hundred after that is went from a rarely used painkiller to a liquid that was said to cure all aliments and would even lead to the most humiliating defeat China Empire. In the 1803 opium became dwarfed by its new brother morphine which is named in honor of the Greek god Morpheus who is the god of dreams. Morphine is an extract of opium and is ruffly 10 times the strength of its counter part. After Morphine creation it was put to used almost at once to assist battle field victims. This was a mistake however, because this refined does of opium is also 10 times more addicting then it was in its original form. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers would retur...
Hanson, Glen R., et al. Drugs and Society. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2011.
Heroin was originally synthesized in 1874 by a man named C.R Alder Wright. Created as a solution to opium, a drug that had plagued many American households. It was originally produced for medical purposes evidently becoming highly addictive. Heroin “... was originally marketed as a non-addictive substance” (“History of Addiction”) which inevitably increased its popularity. It became especially popular in places of poverty. Heroin became a solution to struggle. So common it was almost as if heroin was a prescribed medicine for hardship. Known as “[a] treatment of many illnesses and pain” (“A brief history of addiction”) but later revealed that it caused more harm than good. Being so easily accessible it became immensely common among musicians.
The drug is a big problem at many colleges today, and is getting worse by time. There are more and more drugs circling in college atmospheres, where many students aren’t aware. If people learn what is happening around them, and watch out for each other, the problem should be able to be contained.
Morphine is a highly addictive opiate psychoactive painkiller. It is often used before or after surgery to alleviate severe pain. Morphine acts by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. The drug was originally derived from the poppy seed plant before it was chemically enhanced and manufactured. Starting off, the drug was used to cure alcoholism and certain types of addictions. This didn’t last very long considering morphine was found to be much more addictive than alcohol. In the early 1900s, morphine was identified as a controlled substance under the Harrison Act. The Harrison Act was put in place to control morphine by making it only legal for those with a prescription for the drug to carry and use it. It is now considered a Schedule I&II drug, which basically defines the levels of enforcement against the drugs. At the time, morphine was the most commonly abused drug, because of its mind-numbing, and reality shattering capabilities.
In 1805, morphine and codeine were isolated from opium, and morphine served as a cure for opium addiction since its addictive characteristics were not known. Morphine’s use as a treatment for opium addiction was initially well received, as morphine has about ten times more euphoric effects than the equivalent amount of opium. Over the years, however, morphine abuse has increased. Heroin was synthesized from morphine in 1874 by an English chemist, but was not made commercially until 1898 by the Bayer Pharmaceutical Company. Attempts were proposed to use heroin in place of morphine due to problems of morphine abuse.
Gwinnell, Esther, and Christine Adamec. "drug addiction." Health Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
Gregorio Lopez Mr. Locks British Lit 4/7/14 The First Opium War and its aftermath on Chinese To the normal Chinese man during the early 19th century, opium was nothing more than a luxury that only those of higher power or influence could indulge themselves in. Yet by the middle of the 19th century opium had become a commodity that everyone could have and that at the same time they seemed to need. Even though it was now such a big part of the normal chinese culture, it did not benefit the people nor Chinese culture, it did not benefit the people or the government. The only benefit it did seem to have was towards the British.
"Illegal Drugs in America: A Modern History." DEA Museum & Visitors Center. Web. 14 Dec. 2010.
Nagle, Jeanne. Everything You Need to Know About Drug Addiction. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2012.
Drugs. The word itself sounds dangerous. Little is it known that drugs are even more dangerous that most people can ever imagine. A complete overview and insight into the world of drugs and the dangers of illegal, addictive substances will be provided. Drugs are an evident hazard and epidemic in today’s society, so it is definitely necessary that a full point of view is apparent.