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Heroin Addiction -- How it started
There are actually two stories to tell when discussing heroin addiction in the United States, as one story came from Asia and the other from Germany. Heroin addiction is a part of a family of drugs called opiates, and their stories intertwine in our history. The drug opium, made from poppy seeds, was introduced into the U.S. in the mid-1800’s by Chinese immigrants, who came to this country to work on the ever-expanding railroad. The workers brought it with them. One usually thinks of cowboys bellying up to the bar in the Wild West, but opium dens were just as common. Opium had been around for centuries, and in approximately 1810, a German scientist, derived morphine from opium. Because of the dream-like state it created in the user, it was named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, by a pharmacist, Dr. F.W.A. Serturner. It found its way to this country in the 1850’s, and it was widely used in the Civil War. It was effective in treating severe pain and embraced by the medical community. But there were unexpected consequences. The problem was, morphine, like opium, is addictive and by the end of the war, tens of thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers had become dependent. An old hymn, “Oh God and Father of Mankind” borrowed from John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem, “The Brewing of Soma,” and was written as a response to the use of morphine during the Civil War. Whittier recognized the struggle to cope with pain, brokenness and limitation experience by those suffering from the clutches of morphine. He wrote: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, Drop Thy still of quietness, Breathe through the hearts of our desire The medical community was at a loss in how to deal with this. But “help” was on the way. Back in Germany work continued on morphine and in 1874 we were introduced to HEROIN. According to the German scientists, heroin was an excellent alternative to morphine because it was “safe and non-addictive.” Heroin was even recommended for children. Morphine and heroin had established a strong foothold in the United States. Getting back to the other side of the country for a moment, opium dens were common in the West. Rather than go to the saloon, cowboys would sometimes spend days reclined in these dimly lit dens, smoking opium and getting friendly with Asian prostitutes. Because of the chronic use of the drug, many would develop a heroin addiction. However, alcohol was considered to be a bigger problem, so some bright person suggested that opium would be a good cure for alcoholism. Other “medicines” were created. Laudanum, for example, was basically opium and alcohol, and given out like aspirin to adults and children. It “cures what ails ya.” Another drug, cocaine, was also introduced and used as medicine. Opium, morphine, heroin addiction, cocaine and alcohol were all big problems long before the 20th Century. But the problem was becoming apparent. Government doesn’t move quickly and by the time Congress passed the Dangerous Drug Act in 1920, making over-the-counter sale of these drugs illegal, the effort was ineffective. In Great Britain, the Dangerous Drug Act centered around the need to curb cocaine use. By 1925, heroin addiction was present in over 200,000 in the U.S. and since that time there has been a great effort to curb the distribution and use of heroin and other illegal and deadly drugs.
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