Imported opium poppies were cheap and readily available, making it a profitable product for chemists, pharmaceutical companies and backyard operators. The easy availability of opium also turned thousands of Britons into addicts. Opium-related deaths numbered between 140 and 200 each year. This figure included dozens of babies and infants, who were regularly doped with over-the-counter syrups, cordials and teething gels laced with opium.
In 1869, Doctor Joyce of Rolvenden wrote to The Lancet, remarking that the withdrawal of opium from the open market was causing its own problems among his opium-eating patients:
“The sudden withdrawal of the drug [has] caused overwhelming sickness, complete prostration of body and mind, severe rigours, great loathing of food, an utter inability to sleep, constant purging…”
According to the doctor these withdrawal symptoms are difficult to treat, however he has achieved some good results by prescribing:
“..a liberal supply of brandy, the use of suppositories of morphine and the cautious exhibition of Indian hemp [marijuana].”
Source: Letter from Dr Joyce to The Lancet, vol.1, January 1869. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.