A TIME-RELEASE HISTORY OF THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC IBD

Sinopsis

This Brief takes the reader on a chemical journey by following the history for over two centuries of how an opiate became an opioid, thus spawning an empire and a series of crises. These imperfect resemblances of alkaloids are both natural and synthetic substancesáthat, particularly in America, are continually part of a growing concern about overuse.áThis seemed an inviting prospectáfor those in pain, but as the ubiquitous media coverage continuesáto lay bare, the levelsáof abuse pointáto the fact that perhapsáan epidemicáisáupon us, if not a culture war.áSeeking answers to howáand whyáthis addiction crisis transpired over two hundred years of long development, thisáBrief examines the role that the chemistry laboratory played in turning patients into consumers. By utilizing a host of diverse sources, this Brief seeks to trace theádesign andáthe production of opioids and their antecedents over the past two centuries. Fromáthe isolation and developmentáof the first alkaloids with morphine that relieved pain within the home and on the battlefield, to the widespread use of nostrums and the addiction crisis that ensued, to the disseminationáof drugs by what became known as Big Pharma after the World Wars, and finally, to competition from home-made pharmaceuticals, the progenitor was always, inásome form, aátype of chemistry lab.áAt times, the laboratory pressed science to think deeply about societyâÇÖs maladies, such as curing disease and alleviating pain, in order to look for new opportunities in the name of progress. á Despite the best intentions opioids have created a paradox of pain as they were manipulated by creating reliefáwith synthetic precision and influencing a dystopian vision. Thus, influence came in many forms, from governments, from the medical community, and from theáentrepreneurial aspirations of the general populace.áFor better, but mostly for worse, all played a role in changingáforever the trajectoryáofáwhat started with the isolation of a compound in Germany.áCombining chemistry and history ináaárousing new long-form narrative that even broadens the definition ofáa laboratory,áthe originsáand future of this complicated topicáare carefully examined.