THE ’90s WERE DANGEROUS –
Jan. 24, 2024 – Alice was given a room although it was evident to everyone that she was acting very abnormally. She moved in a slow dreamlike state which no one could attach a reason to until one of the female boarders noticed Alice pull a bottle from her pocket and sip from it. The clear, glass container had come from a pharmacy in Providence and contained laudanum. It was almost empty.
A sedative and pain-killer, laudanum was a tincture of opium, a popular household cure-all at the time and highly addictive. A one-ounce bottle could be had for 10 cents and a four-ounce bottle for 28 cents at any pharmacy. Each fluid ounce contained about 45 grains of opium and was at least 40 percent alcohol. Consumers were directed to administer one drop to children two-months and older. Adults were instructed to take 25 to 30 drops.
Made from the extracts of ripe seeds of the poppy plant dissolved in alcohol, laudanum was a reddish brown color and had a very bitter taste. Quickly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, the drug reached its peak one hour after ingesting. It was used by those seeking to quell diarrhea, cough, depression, body aches and cranky babies.
Although a sedative, laudanum produced a temporary euphoria before calming the user. Too large of a dose or frequent doses could result in abnormal liver function, pulmonary or cardiac failure. Because only 2 ½ tea spoonsful was enough to kill a person, it was a very popular means of suicide.
Those addicted to products containing opium were usually introduced to the drug as a medicine. Deadening pain and arousing excitement, the addiction presented an overwhelming restlessness when the drug began to wear off, alleviated only by ingesting more of the drug. Most addicts finally resorted to simply drinking laudanum throughout the day.
