Germany Suffers at Her Own Hands
Who Invented Heroin?
“No cough thanks to heroin,” was the ad slogan for a cough medicine produced by the German drug company Bayer in the late 19th century.
It was originally developed by the same chemist who invented aspirin—Felix Hoffman. While experimenting with acetic acid, he combined it with morphine, an extract from the poppy pod and created heroin.
Heroin was prescribed to both adults and children inflicted with epilepsy, asthma, schizophrenia and heart disease. The only side effect listed by Bayer was constipation. Heroin was legal in Germany up until 1971 when it was finally outlawed.
Who Invented Crystal Meth?
A Japanese chemist invented a liquid version of what became the German Wehrmacht’s “miracle pill.” Temmler, a Berlin-based drug firm refined the drug and patented it in 1937. A year later, Pervitin was sold over the counter. It left people fearless, alert and with no desire for food or drink for days on end. Pervitin is still illegally on the market under a different name—Crystal Meth.
Did you know that the Nazis sent drugged-up soldiers to the front in Poland in 1939 and to France the following year? During the invasion of France, an unbelievably huge amount of the methamphetamine (Pervitin) was distributed to the soldiers. In fact, it was 35 million tablets! The soldiers named it “Panzerschokolade” (tank chocolate). Little did they know they were becoming meth addicts.
Who Invented Ecstacy?
It was widely thought that an American chemist invented the party drug Ecstasy. However, the truth is he only rediscovered the compound. The German firm, Merck, originally developed and filed a patent for the colorless oil under the name “3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamin” —MDMA —in 1912.
Who Invented Cocaine?
Friedrich Wöhler, Ordinary Professor of Chemistry at Göttingen University, imported coca leaves from South America. The leaves were given to his graduate student, Albert Niemann, to analyze.
He proceeded to isolate cocaine from coca leaves and was the first person to extract the active ingredients of cocaine. After his death, his work was carried on by his student, Wilhelm Lossen (1838-1906), who finally, in 1865, determined its proper chemical formula.
Who Invented Methadone?
Methadone was first created in 1937 by German scientists Max Bockmühl and Gustav Ehrhart at IG Farben, a German chemical and pharmaceutical industry conglomerate. They were searching for a painkiller that would be easier to use during surgery, with less addiction potential than morphine or heroin. Yet today, methadone is believed to be even more addictive than heroin.
Who Invented Oxycontin?
After heroin was banned in America, in 1916 two German scientists, Freund and Speyer of the University of Frankfurt in Germany, first synthesized oxycodone from Thebaine and created oxycodone during World War 1.
It was promoted as a non-addictive, semi-synthetic substitute for heroin, morphine, and opium. However, a current FDA report indicates that oxycodone may be more addictive than morphine. As with all opiates, Oxycontin originates from the poppy plant. The opium alkaloid, Thebaine, is extracted from the plant and refined in a lab to produce Oxycontin.
In Summary:
Unfortunately, the roots of many addictive, dangerous drugs do go back to Germany, though many other countries are also guilty of tampering with Man’s sanity.
It may not have been that these drug creators were all evil-intentioned. Some were looking for medical solutions and may have had a genuine desire to help people out of their pain.
However, whether they knew or not, the consequences of creating these harmful, mind-altering substances have been devastating worldwide. Of the 7.5 billion people on the planet, over 29 million have drug problems.
This, of course, includes Germany, back where this all started, who also suffers the repercussions. There alone the number of people who died due to illegal drug use rose nine percent in 2016, per government figures, and German officials have made a point of warning people about the rise of drug sales online, which is completely out of control.
Germans and all Europeans, as well as the rest of the populated world, need to turn to solutions that do not ruin lives, and do not kill. We can’t turn back the clock but we can now take a responsible stance and help prevent drug addiction through education and rehabilitation.
SOURCES:
http://www.dw.com/en/germany-the-original-drug-lab/g-19183507
https://ww.alternet.org/drugs/oxycontin-clan-americas-wealthiest-families
