This Brief takes the reader on a chemical journey by following the history for over two
centuries of how an opiate became an opioid thus spawning an empire and a series of crises.
These imperfect resemblances of alkaloids are both natural and synthetic substances that
particularly in America are continually part of a growing concern about overuse. This seemed
an inviting prospect for those in pain but as the ubiquitous media coverage continues to lay
bare the levels of abuse point to the fact that perhaps an epidemic is upon us if not a
culture war. Seeking answers to how and why this addiction crisis transpired over two hundred
years of long development this Brief examines the role that the chemistry laboratory played in
turning patients into consumers. By utilizing a host of diverse sources this Brief seeks to
trace the design and the production of opioids and their antecedents over the past two
centuries. From the isolation and development of the first alkaloids with morphine that
relieved pain within the home and on the battlefield to the widespread use of nostrums and the
addiction crisis that ensued to the dissemination of drugs by what became known as Big Pharma
after the World Wars and finally to competition from home-made pharmaceuticals the
progenitor was always in some form a type of chemistry lab. At times the laboratory pressed
science to think deeply about society's maladies such as curing disease and alleviating pain
in order to look for new opportunities in the name of progress. Despite the best intentions
opioids have created a paradox of pain as they were manipulated by creating relief with
synthetic precision and influencing a dystopian vision. Thus influence came in many forms
from governments from the medical community and from the entrepreneurial aspirations of the
general populace. For better but mostly for worse all played a role in changing forever the
trajectory of what started with the isolation of a compound in Germany. Combining chemistry and
history in a rousing new long-form narrative that even broadens the definition of a laboratory
the origins and future of this complicated topic are carefully examined.
