morphine

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Friederich Serturner created morphine from opium in 1803(1). The German pharmacist recalling Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams called his creation `morphium', which later became morphine(2).

Morphine is opium's active ingredient and is ten times more potent than opium(3).

Two major factors helped spread the use of Morphine first was the perfection of the hypodermic syringe by Dr. Alexander Wood in 1853. The second was those wounded war, the American Civil War ( 1861-1865), the Prussian-Austrian War ( 1866), and the Franco-Prussian War ( 1870)(4). Addiction to morphine became known as "Soldier's Disease."(5).

It is believed that during this time the total number of addicts was a quarter million and was divided equally between medical and street dependence(6).

Morphine was seen as having medical value. Some of the possible medical uses for the injection of Morphine were listed in Dr. H. H. Kane's 1880 textbook "The Hypodermic Injection of Morphia. Its a history, advantages, and dangers. It was based on Experience of 360 Physicians," It listed 54 diseases a few were anemia, angina pectoris, diabetes, insanity, nymphomania, and ovarian neuralgia, to tetanus, vaginismus, and vomiting of pregnancy(7).

Soon addictions and non medical use of Morphine started to become a concern by the late 1870s. The New York Tribune said in 1878 "A dangerous method of using morphine to produce pleasurable sensations is believed by physicians in this city to be a growing vice," (8).