Laudanum drug (No. 9639) under the Controlled Substances Act. In the United States, opium tincture is marketed and distributed by several pharmaceutical firms, each producing a single formulation of the drug, which is deodorized. Each mL contains 10 mg of anhydrous morphine (the equivalent of 100 mg of powdered opium), other opium alkaloids (except noscapine), and ethanol, 19%. It is available prepackaged in bottles of four ounces (118 mL) and 16 ounces (1 pint or 473 mL). Tincture of Opium is known as one of many "unapproved drugs" regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); the marketing and distribution
Laudanum most common contemporary formulation), among others. Depending on the version, additional amounts of the substances and additional active ingredients (e.g. saffron, sugar, eugenol) are added, modifying its effects (e.g., amount of sedation, or anti-tussive properties). There is probably no single reference that lists all the pharmaceutical variations of laudanum that were created and used in different countries during centuries since it was initially formulated. The reasons are that in addition to official variations described in pharmacoepias, pharmacists and drug manufacturers were free to alter such formulas. The alcohol content of Laudanum probably varied substantially; on the labels of turn-of-the-century bottles