There is some evidence which suggests that the use of Irish stick weapons may have evolved in a progression from a reliance on long spears and wattles, to shorter spears and wattles, to the shillelagh, alpeen, blackthorn (walking-stick) and short cudgel.
Moreover, most of the associated drugs fatalities including tramadol have been reported with other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, particularly benzodiazepine [9], [10], [11], [13] and [14]. In certain cases, benzodiazepine levels were in the therapeutic range or slightly higher.
So much so that 20 years later it was licensed in Australia, the UK, and the US under a variety of names; including Tramadol in America. Tramadol is a manmade pain reliever and as such not a true opiate, but rather an opioid.