Summary of Paul A. Offit's Pandora's Lab

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The first civilization produced the first medicine, which was opium. It was so powerful that ancient cultures believed it came from the gods. The money is in the seedpod, which contains a milky white liquid that hardens into a dark gum.

#2 The Romans were also smitten with the opium poppy, which was emblazoned on their coins and honored by their god of sleep, Somnos. But they also understood that opium could be a powerful poison.

#3 Americans also embraced liquid opium. It was a staple of the patent medicine craze, and was easily purchased over the counter. It was also used by many actors, gamblers, prostitutes, and criminals.

#4 The Harrison Act, which was passed in 1914, made it illegal for doctors to prescribe narcotics to maintain an addiction. It would take almost a hundred years before doctors were held accountable for violating this law.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822504004

IRB Media

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Insights on Paul A. Offit's Pandora's Lab

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The first civilization produced the first medicine, which was opium. It was so powerful that ancient cultures believed it came from the gods. The money is in the seedpod, which contains a milky white liquid that hardens into a dark gum.

#2

The Romans were also smitten with the opium poppy, which was emblazoned on their coins and honored by their god of sleep, Somnos. But they also understood that opium could be a powerful poison.

#3

Americans also embraced liquid opium. It was a staple of the patent medicine craze, and was easily purchased over the counter. It was also used by many actors, gamblers, prostitutes, and criminals.

#4

The Harrison Act, which was passed in 1914, made it illegal for doctors to prescribe narcotics to maintain an addiction. It would take almost a hundred years before doctors were held accountable for violating this law.

#5

In the late 1800s, a chemist in London named C. R. Alder Wright boiled morphine with the reactive form of acetic acid, which produced diacetylmorphine. He was convinced that he had created a nonaddictive pain reliever.

#6

By 1898, Heinrich Dreser had tested the drug on only a handful of people for about four weeks, and he had found that it could treat morphine addiction. He believed that he had found the perfect drug.

#7