Laudanum: Victorian Elixir
In Victorian times, what magical elixir could be recommended for conditions as wide as infant tooth discomfort, loose stools, PMS, and insomnia? The answer, of course, was laudanum: the opium-derived narcotic painkiller, mood-lifter, and life destroyer."
Laudanum, another opium derivative, was, like morphia, freely available from chemists and never very expensive. It was a mild soporific and painkiller but a supreme sedative and particularly helpful at deathbeds. ...There was no restriction imposed on chemists regarding the sale of laudanum and other such sedatives," recounts Liza Picard in her book Victorian London: The Tale of a City.
Addictive God of Sleep
Laudanum contained all the opium alkaloids, including morphine and codeine. To make its bitter taste more palatable, it was often blended into a syrup containing vanilla, spices, sugar, and citrus, in addition to alcohol. Barbara Hodgson, in her book, In the Arms of Morpheus: The Tragic History of Laudanum, Morphine, and Patent Medicines, says that "Opium, and after 1820, morphine, was mixed with everything imaginable: mercury, hashish, cayenne pepper, ether, chloroform, belladonna, whiskey, wine, and brandy." Indeed, it was the combination of opium and alcohol that made it so effective, addictive, and deadly. Laudanum dulled or removed pain, produced vivid dreams, and led to deep and disrupted sleep. There is a good reason morphine is named after Morpheus, the god of sleep.
Euphoria... and Hallucinations
Opium has been widely used as a medicinal since the time of Hippocrates, the author of the famous Oath. In addition to its pain-relieving and sleep-inducing properties, it also induces a sense of euphoria. Researcher Rudolf Gelpke says, "Opium...loosens the soul from its entanglements with everyday things and the outer world. (It) makes one silent and gentle. It inspires and gives flight to the imagination."
For the downsides of its use, a brief reading of Confessions of an Opium Eater by Thomas de Quincey (free Kindle copy here) might be instructive; he recounts the paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations he suffered, even while he consented to continue indulging his addiction.
Fame and Infamy
In the Victorian Era, laudanum was used worldwide, particularly by artists, writers, and women. The Encyclopedia of Psychotropic Plants claims that Edgar Allan Poe wrote most of his work while under its influence. Baudelaire, a sometimes collaborator with Poe, published a collection of poems entitled The Flowers of Evil, which explored his experiences with opium. Mary Lincoln Todd was said to be addicted to laudanum, as was Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Like people with a substance use disorder in any age, once in the grasp of the drug it was hard to free oneself. Then, as now, certain people were more disposed to fall under the guile of opiates than others.
Remarkably, although it is now highly regulated, laudanum remains available even today by prescription in the US and the UK. It cannot, however, be recommended.
Main photo credit: @ Sandra Byrd
Poppies photo credit: Photo by Tanya Cressey on Unsplash
Mary Todd Lincoln photo credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Todd_Lincoln2crop.jpg
