Opium poppy as a drug
Morphine and heroin
The harmful effects of addiction to opium were recognised early on, but have been overshadowed by the even more damaging effects of morphine and heroin.
|Men smoking opium in an East India Company drawing, c.1860.|
Morphine is the main active ingredient in opium, and was first isolated as a pure chemical in 1803. With the development of the hypodermic syringe in 1853, it became widely used for pain relief, and is still used in medicine today. As with other opiates, there is a strong risk of addiction.
Heroin does not occur in nature, but was first synthesised from morphine in 1874. Initially marketed as a non-addictive medicine, it has since beem recognised as the most damaging form of opiate. Heroin addiction is widespread, and the demand has had a major effect on the economy and politics of the main regions of supply, Afghanistan and the 'Golden Triangle' of southeast Asia.