Drug Use And Abuse Is A Old As Mankind Itself

Head pains were treated with sweet-smelling herbs such as rose, lavender, sage, and bay. A mixture of henbane and hemlock were applied to aching joints. Coriander was used to reduce a fever.    Medieval Medicine to treat Stomach Pains and Sickness  Stomach pains and sickness were

We find that the “oldest written sources of western medicine are The Hippocratic writings from the 5th and 4th centuries BC; which covers all aspects of medicine at that time and contain numerous medical terms.”(Wulff) This was the beginning of the Greek era of the language of medicine, which lasted even after the Roman

During the 18th Century, medicines were considered a trial and error methodology. If chemists were mixing concoctions in their man made labs, doctors theorized the treatment of a particular diagnosis. In the journal Two Centuries of American Medicine written in 1976, authors Bordley and Saunders wrote “Tinctures, poultices, soups, and teas were made with water- or alcohol-based extracts of freshly ground or dried

Drug use has surrounded us as a species since the stone age. The first references of alcohol were found within ancient Chinese civilizations, which date to roughly 9,000 years ago (McGovern, et al.). The original sources for these alcohols were rice and millet. One of the first surgical anesthetics used was opium. It is believed that some of the first Sumerian clay tablets contained basic prescriptions of opium for pain relief. Many Arabic cultures also used opium for diseases and issues relating to gastrointestinal issues and eye abnormalities (McGovern, et al.). Whether drugs were used for recreational purposes or for medicinal uses is left in the history.

Drugs first surfaced in the late 1880’s with Opium. Opium at the time was the most in demand drug choice. Opium comes from a flower called, “Opium Poppy”, people would take the “fruit” of the flower, which was the actual opium and let it dry up and then it was either; smoked, injected, eaten or put in drinks. When the drug effects kicks it the user would start

Dioscorides flourished around 40-80 CE, and was either a civilian doctor, or a soldier in the Roman army probably in the Greek East. He is known for his writing on pharmacology from the text On Materia Medica. This text was basically about medical ingredients, that was divided into five books. Around 700 plants were used in 2000 recipes, and the text was organized by drug affinities rather than alphabetically. Dioscorides focus on pharmacology was about the properties of the drugs, how the patients reacted to the drugs, and the use of drugs in therapy. Furthermore, the properties of drugs include descriptions like drying, moistening, heating, and cooling. However, Dioscorides does not link the properties of the drugs to the humors of the body. Also, it is possible that the original manuscript was illustrated, but it is unknown which illustration might represent the original

Alas, everything good is accompanied by something bad. In this context, medicine comes along with poisons. When physicians experimented with plants, they discovered some had healing properties while others had dangerous toxins. Therefore, plants and herbs were used in medicines and poisons frequently during the Elizabethan era for things such as war and pain relievers.

Opiates can be found in history all the way back to B.C. where it is spoken of in The Odyssey by Homer. Homer states, “Presently she cast a drug into the wine of which they drank to lull all pain and anger and bring forgetfulness of every sorrow.” Homer describes this as a scene where Helen, who is Zeus’ daughter, prepares the drug for Telemachus and his friends to help ease the pain of losing Odysseus. The Odyssey also later describes Telemachus and his friends not experiencing any toxic effects because of their habitual use of this drug. The drug that is spoken of is opium.

Many individuals ponder how remarkable it is that humans have lasted this long in a world full of war and through chaotic times. One element that has helped humanity is the use of medicine and healthcare systems. Medicine and healing have been around for many centuries, and has made countless advances in the system and cures to diseases within many civilizations. Instead of discussing the change of medicine over all time and around the world, we will narrow the ways in which a civilization heals their sick into a smaller time period and this period was the era of the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. In the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, medicine and health were very important to help the ill and infirm, and many medical techniques were developed

Man has walked this Earth for a long time and, during that time, they have suffered from ailments. It may not be common practice now to make offerings to the Gods in an attempt to seek a cure but, there are still aspects from ancient times evident within modern pharmacy practice. Albeit refined and better understood now, the medicines and practices established all those years ago have trickled down and firmly found a place to call home all over the world.

Medicine has come a long way from the Greek period. Theories composed of the four elements were used to explain the sick phenomenon that happens to our bodies. Many of the those theories are not relevant as of now. Medicine and remedies has begun with the Earth, providing all types of compounds and

Chemical medicine originates from medical alchemy of the medieval period. Its nature was controversial and the acceptance and practice of chemical medicine caused problems with those who had strong ties with Scholasticism that rooted them in the Galenic tradition and made them wary of new practices and innovations. The fact that chemical medicine became quite popular thanks to the sixteenth-century Swiss doctor Paracelsus only increased the controversial nature. Paracelsus was well-known for his “miraculous cures” as well as for rejecting the European medical organization (De Vos, 2007).

Tribes in Mexico such as Huichol or Tarahumara discovered that the cactus can be dried and eaten to achieve an ever more rich effect (Wade par. 7). In Mexico, the Matazetec tribes from Oaxaca discovered that the mushroom flora they came across came upon the Earth as thunderbolts (Hochman). The people believed that these mushroom flowers were a gift from their God to take use in their practicing of rituals. The rituals took place every month with the gathering of the flowers and infusing them into tea. All of the people in the tribe would then drink the tea and partake in deep soul searching. The religious side of these drugs was based on the idea that hallucinogens allowed the Shaman to speak to the spirits and be given direction to lead his people in the most beneficial way.

In the early years of the Roman Empire there were no individuals in what might be a different medicinal calling. It was trusted that every leader of the family unit knew enough about home grown cures and drug to treat diseases in his family. The Roman author Pliny composed:

With the advent of an emergent Islamic culture from the seventh century CE, the Muslim realm spread to touch vast expanses of the globe. In particular, areas which had previously prospered as part of the Greek and Roman empires, exposed this incipient culture to immense medical and pharmacological knowledge; these had been produced and formulated by Classical scholars and practitioners such as Hippocrates and Galen. Thus began a lengthy process of translation and transmission of Greek medical treatises into the Islamic world, and a subsequent and unique cultural meeting ensued.