In partnership with
THE JOY PLANT
The Pill In Your Cabinet Has A Longer History Than You Were Told
Longer Than The Pharmacy
Longer Than The Doctor Who Prescribed It
Longer Than The Country You Were Born In
This Story Does Not Start In A Lab
It Starts In A Field
THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.
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OKAY BACK FROM THE FIELD 🌸
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THE OLDEST HIGH ON EARTH 🌿
Sometime Around 3400 BC, The Sumerians Were Cultivating A Flower
They Called It Hul Gil
The Joy Plant
They Were Not Growing It For Its Petals
They Were Growing It For What Came Out Of The Pod When You Scored It With A Blade
A Thick, Milky Sap That Dried Into A Dark Resin
Raw Opium
The Sumerians Passed The Knowledge To The Babylonians
The Babylonians Passed It To The Egyptians
The Egyptians Passed It To The Greeks
By The Time Alexander The Great Was Moving Across Asia In The Fourth Century BC
Opium Was Already Ancient
It Traveled Every Major Trade Route The Ancient World Had
Not As Contraband
As Medicine
As Currency
As Something Worth Carrying Across A Desert
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HOW YOU GET FROM FLOWER TO DRUG 🌺
The Opium Poppy Is Papaver Somniferum
Somniferum. Latin For "Sleep Bearing"
When The Petals Fall, A Seed Pod Remains
Score The Pod With A Blade Before It Fully Ripens
The Sap That Bleeds Out Is Latex
That Latex Contains Over Fifty Active Compounds
The Two That Matter Most For This Series Are Morphine And Codeine
In 1804, A German Pharmacist Named Friedrich Sertürner
Isolated A Pure Compound From Opium For The First Time
He Named It Morphium
After Morpheus, The Greek God Of Dreams
It Was Ten Times Stronger Than Raw Opium
Codeine Followed In 1832
For The First Time In History
The Active Molecule Could Be Measured
Dosed
Prescribed
The Ancient Plant Had Become A Modern Drug
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THE VICTORIAN MEDICINE CABINET 🏺
In The 1800s, You Did Not Need A Prescription To Buy Opioids
You Needed Change
Laudanum
Opium Dissolved In Alcohol
Was Sold Openly In Pharmacies Across Britain And America
Marketed To Women For Nerves
Menstrual Pain
Anxiety, And Sleeplessness
Sold In Children's Syrups To Stop Infants From Crying At Night
Advertised In Newspapers Alongside Soap And Tea
Respectable Households Kept It In The Medicine Cabinet
The Way A Modern Household Keeps Ibuprofen
There Was No Awareness Campaign
There Was No Warning Label
There Was No Concept Yet Of What Dependence On This Compound Would Eventually Look Like
The Most Addictive Substance The World Had Ever Encountered Was Being Sold Across The Counter With A Smile
THE BAGEL THAT COULD GET YOU FIRED 🥯
Here Is Something That Did Not Make It Into The Health Class Curriculum
Poppy Seeds Contain Trace Amounts Of Morphine And Codeine
Not Enough To Produce Any Effect
Enough To Show Up On A Drug Test
A Single Poppy Seed Bagel Eaten A Few Hours Before A Urine Screen Has Produced Positive Results For Opiates
Some Workplace Drug Tests Use Thresholds Low Enough That A Breakfast Pastry Becomes A Problem
This Is Not A Loophole Or A Legal Technicality
It Is A Direct Line From The Same Plant
The Same Compound
Just At A Scale That Fits On A Sesame Seed Bun Instead Of In A Syringe
The Molecule Has Not Changed In Five Thousand Years
The Delivery Method Is The Only Thing That Has
