Drugs Timeline

• Depressants Opium (poppy juice) in ancient Greek, "pereg" in Hebrew
  1. Laudanum (opium extract) made up of 10% powdered opium, ethyl alcohol, sugars, saffron (spice) and essential oils. Recorded from the Renaissance for ailments. Alcohol content in 1900 commonly 48%, today 18%.
  2. Morphine, chief ingredient in opium, isolated in 1804 by a German chemist. Chemical makeup C₁₇H₁₉NO₃
  3. Codeine, just 10% the impact of morphine, isolated in France in 1832. Chemical makeup C₁₈H₂₁NO₃
  4. Heroin, semi-synthetic derivative of morphine, discovered in 1897 by chemist Felix Hoffmann at Bayer pharmaceutical company in Elberfeld Germany. Chemical makeup C₂₁H₂₃NO₅
  5. Oxycodone, derivative of codeine, synthesized in 1916. Chemical makeup C₁₈H₂₁NO₄
  6. Demerol (Pethidine) synthesized in 1938. Chemical makeup C₁₅H₂₁NO₂ + HCl acid salt
  7. Fentanyl, synthetic opioid derived from Demerol, synthesized in Belgium by Paul Janssen at Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1959. Chemical makeup C₂₂H₂₈N₂O + C₆H₈O₇ citric acid salt
• Stimulants eg MDMA (Ecstasy), synthesized in 1912 by Merck chemist Anton Kollisch, developed 1970s-1980s. Chemical makeup C₁₁H₁₅NO₂ + HCl acid salt
• Cannabinoids, Hallucinogens

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