Canadian Addiction Rehab Getting Rid Of Morphine Addiction | Page 3

Morphine: History of Abuse
 The once known as the magical drug and plant of joy goes way back to
Byzantine times. Alchemists of then had opium-based elixir but the defeat
of the Ottoman made them lose the basic formula of the drug. From time to
time other opium-based medications were introduced like laudanum by
Paracelsus around 1522 and the new opiate in the late eighteenth century by
East India Company.
 Soon in 1804 Friedrich Sertürner, Germany based pharmacist discovered
Morphine and named it after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus.
Morphine is considered as the very first alkaloid obtained from plant poppy.
Actively marketed as the pain medication in 1817 to the general public it
helped a lot of doctors to complete surgeries more efficiently and sedate
patients. It was not just used as anaesthesia but also to counter the alcohol
addiction. Later in times, various incidents revealed the killing nature of the
drug. In particular, Friedrich Sertürnerown wife died of the overdose of the
drug. Devastated, he tried to warn others but in vain.