[lit-ideas] Re: TGIF
- From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 09:29:22 -0700
on 8/26/05 8:16 AM, JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx at JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx wrote:
<<Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy
to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect
guardian of health." >>
How in the *world* did such a notion develope?!?! And when and how was the
reality of the chemical and its effect on people realized?
The only puzzle here to me is the reference to complexion.
Opiates were very common in the nineteenth century. Open a nineteenth
century newspaper and you'll find all kinds of liquids that are guaranteed
to deal with pain, loose stool, anxiety etc. (but not complexion). Most had
opiates in them and, indeed, were able to address these problems better than
competing remedies. I don't recall the early history of heroin but I do
remember that it was introduced as an improvement on laudanem--all of the
benefits, fewer side effects!
David Ritchie
Portland, Oregon
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