opium opium opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: lachryma papaveris) is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy papaver somniferum. approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. the latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. the traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. the word meconium (derived from the greek for "opium-like", but now used to refer to newborn stools) historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies. opiumopium poppy seed pod exuding latex from a cutsource plant(s)papaver somniferumpart(s) of plantlatex capsule seedsgeographic originuncertain, possibly asia minor, or spain, southern france and northwestern africaactive ingredients morphine codeine noscapine papaverine thebaine main producers afghanistan (primary) myanmar colombia laos mexico india pakistan thailand turkey china australia main consumersworldwide (#1: europe)legal status au: s8 (controlled drug) ca: schedule i de: anlage iii (special prescription form required) nz: class b uk: class a us: schedule ii un: narcotic schedule i controlled unless and except for medical use under a license. the production methods have not significantly changed since ancient times. through selective breeding of the papaver somniferum plant, the content of the phenanthrene alkaloids morphine, codeine, and to a lesser extent thebaine has been greatly increased. in modern times, much of the thebaine, which often serves as the raw material for the synthesis for oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and other semisynthetic opiates, originates from extracting papaver orientale or papaver bracteatum. for the illegal drug trade, the morphine is extracted from the opium latex, reducing the bulk weight by 88%. it is then converted to heroin which is almost twice as potent, and increases the value by a similar factor. the reduced weight and bulk make it easier to smuggle. history the mediterranean region contains the earliest archeological evidence of human use; the oldest known seeds date back to more than 5000 bce in the neolithic age with purposes such as food, anaesthetics, and ritual. evidence from ancient greece indicates that opium was consumed in several ways, including inhalation of vapors, suppositories, medical poultices, and as a combination with hemlock for suicide. opium is mentioned in the most important medical texts of the ancient and medieval world, including the ebers papyrus and the writings of dioscorides, galen, and avicenna. widespread medical use of unprocessed opium continued through the american civil war before giving way to morphine and its successors, which could be injected at a precisely controlled dosage. ancient use (pre-500 ce) a little of it, taken as much as a grain of ervum is a pain-easer, and a sleep-causer, and a digester...but being drank too much it hurts, making men lethargical, and it kills. dioscorides, introduction to the herbal of dioscorides the greek poppy crop from the malwa in india (probably papaver somniferum var. album) opium has been actively collected since approximately 3400 bce. at least 17 finds of papaver somniferum from neolithic settlements have been reported throughout switzerland, germany, and spain, including the placement of large numbers of poppy seed capsules at a burial site (the cueva de los murciélagos, or "bat cave", in spain), which has been carbon-14 dated to 4200 bce. numerous finds of p. somniferum or p. setigerum from bronze age and iron age settlements have also been reported. the first known cultivation of opium poppies was in mesopotamia, approximately 3400 bce, by sumerians, who called the plant hul gil, the "joy plant". tablets found at nippur, a sumerian spiritual center south of baghdad, described the collection of poppy juice in the morning and its use in production of opium. cultivation continued in the middle east by the assyrians, who also collected poppy juice in the morning after scoring the pods with an iron scoop; they called the juice aratpa-pal, possibly the root of papaver. opium production continued under the babylonians and egyptians. opium was used with poison hemlock to put people quickly and painlessly to death. it was also used in medicine. spongia somnifera, sponges soaked in opium, were used during surgery. the egyptians cultivated opium thebaicum in famous poppy fields around 1300 bce. opium was traded from egypt by the phoenicians and minoans to destinations around the mediterranean sea, including greece, carthage, and europe. by 1100 bce, opium was cultivated on cyprus, where surgical-quality knives were used to score the poppy pods, and opium was cultivated, traded, and smoked. opium was also mentioned after the persian conquest of assyria and babylonian lands in the 6th century bc. from the earliest finds, opium has appeared to have ritual significance, and anthropologists have speculated ancient priests may have used the drug as a proof of healing power. in egypt, the use of opium was generally restricted to priests, magicians, and warriors, its invention is credited to thoth, and it was said to have been given by isis to ra as treatment for a headache. a figure of the minoan "goddess of the narcotics", wearing a crown of three opium poppies, c. 1300 bce, was recovered from the sanctuary of gazi, crete, together with a simple smoking apparatus. the greek gods hypnos (sleep), nyx (night), and thanatos (death) were depicted wreathed in poppies or holding them. poppies also frequently adorned statues of apollo, asclepius, pluto, demeter, aphrodite, kybele and isis, symbolizing nocturnal oblivion. islamic societies (500–1500 ce) opium users in java during the dutch colonial period c. 1870 as the power of the roman empire declined, the lands to the south and east of the mediterranean sea became incorporated into the islamic empires. some muslims believe hadiths, such as in sahih bukhari, prohibits every intoxicating substance, though the use of intoxicants in medicine has been widely permitted by scholars. dioscorides' five-volume de materia medica, the precursor of pharmacopoeias, remained in use (which was edited and improved in the arabic versions) from the 1st to 16th centuries, and described opium and the wide range of its uses prevalent in the ancient world. between 400 and 1200 ce, arab traders introduced opium to china, and to india by 700. the physician muhammad ibn zakariya al-razi of persian origin ("rhazes", 845–930 ce) maintained a laboratory and school in baghdad, and was a student and critic of galen; he made use of opium in anesthesia and recommended its use for the treatment of melancholy in fi ma-la-yahdara al-tabib, "in the absence of a physician", a home medical manual directed toward ordinary citizens for self-treatment if a doctor was not available. the renowned andalusian ophthalmologic surgeon abu al-qasim al-zahrawi ("abulcasis", 936–1013 ce) relied on opium and mandrake as surgical anesthetics and wrote a treatise, al-tasrif, that influenced medical thought well into the 16th century. the persian physician abū ‘alī al-husayn ibn sina ("avicenna") described opium as the most powerful of the stupefacients, in comparison to mandrake and other highly effective herbs, in the canon of medicine. the text lists medicinal effects of opium, such as analgesia, hypnosis, antitussive effects, gastrointestinal effects, cognitive effects, respiratory depression, neuromuscular disturbances, and sexual dysfunction. it also refers to opium's potential as a poison. avicenna describes several methods of delivery and recommendations for doses of the drug. this classic text was translated into latin in 1175 and later into many other languages and remained authoritative until the 19th century. şerafeddin sabuncuoğlu used opium in the 14th-century ottoman empire to treat migraine headaches, sciatica, and other painful ailments. reintroduction to western medicine latin translation of avicenna's canon of medicine, 1483 manuscripts of pseudo-apuleius's 5th-century work from the 10th and 11th centuries refer to the use of wild poppy papaver agreste or papaver rhoeas (identified as p. silvaticum) instead of p. somniferum for inducing sleep and relieving pain. the use of paracelsus' laudanum was introduced to western medicine in 1527, when philippus aureolus theophrastus bombastus von hohenheim, better known by the name paracelsus, returned from his wanderings in arabia with a famous sword, within the pommel of which he kept "stones of immortality" compounded from opium thebaicum, citrus juice, and "quintessence of gold". the name "paracelsus" was a pseudonym signifying him the equal or better of aulus cornelius celsus, whose text, which described the use of opium or a similar preparation, had recently been translated and reintroduced to medieval europe. the canon of medicine, the standard medical textbook paracelsus burned in a public bonfire three weeks after being appointed professor at the university of basel, also described the use of opium, though many latin translations were of poor quality. laudanum ("worthy of praise") was originally the 16th-century term for a medicine associated with a particular physician that was widely well-regarded, but became standardized as "tincture of opium", a solution of opium in ethanol, which paracelsus has been credited with developing. during his lifetime, paracelsus was viewed as an adventurer who challenged the theories and mercenary motives of contemporary medicine with dangerous chemical therapies, but his therapies marked a turning point in western medicine. in the 1660s, laudanum was recommended for pain, sleeplessness, and diarrhea by thomas sydenham, the renowned "father of english medicine" or "english hippocrates", to whom is attributed the quote, "among the remedies which it has pleased almighty god to give to man to relieve his sufferings, none is so universal and so efficacious as opium." use of opium as a cure-all was reflected in the formulation of mithridatium described in the 1728 chambers cyclopedia, which included true opium in the mixture. eventually, laudanum became readily available and extensively used by the 18th century in europe, especially england. compared to other chemicals available to 18th century regular physicians, opium was a benign alternative to arsenic, mercury, or emetics, and it was remarkably successful in alleviating a wide range of ailments. due to the constipation often produced by the consumption of opium, it was one of the most effective treatments for cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea. as a cough suppressant, opium was used to treat bronchitis, tuberculosis, and other respiratory illnesses. opium was additionally prescribed for rheumatism and insomnia. medical textbooks even recommended its use by people in good health, to "optimize the internal equilibrium of the human body". during the 18th century, opium was found to be a good remedy for nervous disorders. due to its sedative and tranquilizing properties, it was used to quiet the minds of those with psychosis, help with people who were considered insane, and also to help treat patients with insomnia. however, despite its medicinal values in these cases, it was noted that in cases of psychosis, it could cause anger or depression, and due to the drug's euphoric effects, it could cause depressed patients to become more depressed after the effects wore off because they would get used to being high. the standard medical use of opium persisted well into the 19th century. us president william henry harrison was treated with opium in 1841, and in the american civil war, the union army used 175,000 lb (80,000 kg) of opium tincture and powder and about 500,000 opium pills. during this time of popularity, users called opium "god's own medicine". one reason for the increase in opiate consumption in the united states during the 19th century was the prescribing and dispensing of legal opiates by physicians and pharmacists to women with "female complaints" (mostly to relieve menstrual pain and hysteria). because opiates were viewed as more humane than punishment or restraint, they were often used to treat the mentally ill. between 150,000 and 200,000 opiate addicts lived in the united states in the late 19th century and between two-thirds and three-quarters of these addicts were women. opium addiction in the later 19th century received a hereditary definition. dr. george beard in 1869 proposed his theory of neurasthenia, a hereditary nervous system deficiency that could predispose an individual to addiction. neurasthenia was increasingly tied in medical rhetoric to the "nervous exhaustion" suffered by many a white-collar worker in the increasingly hectic and industrialized u.s. life—the most likely potential clients of physicians. recreational use in europe, the