Laudanum adult who is not habituated to opiates. This represents the equivalent of between two to three teaspoons () of opium tincture. Suicide by laudanum was not uncommon in the mid-19th century. Prudent medical judgment necessitates toward dispensing very small quantities of opium tincture in small dropper bottles or in pre-filled syringes to reduce the risk of intentional or accidental overdose. In the United States, opium tincture contains 10 mg per mL of anhydrous morphine. By contrast, opium tincture's weaker cousin, paregoric, also confusingly known as "camphorated tincture of opium", is 1/25th the strength of opium tincture, containing only 0.4 mg
Drug their knowledge) arose later and invokes the psychoactive rather than medicinal properties of a substance. A "medication" or "medicine" is a drug taken to cure or ameliorate any symptoms of an illness or medical condition. The use may also be as preventive medicine that has future benefits but does not treat any existing or pre-existing diseases or symptoms. Dispensing of medication is often regulated by governments into three categories—"over-the-counter" medications, which are available in pharmacies and supermarkets without special restrictions; "behind-the-counter" medicines, which are dispensed by a pharmacist without needing a doctor's prescription, and "prescription only medicines", which must be