Poisons

[Steve G]

 My money's on Laudanum 

[MKG]

My money's on Laudanum 

Yep - that was my first thought, Steve. But I cannot for the life of me find out when it became a controlled substance. Any ideas?

Mike

[toni*]

I have a person who commited sucicide this way too.

it cant have been nice surely the person would be retching

[Steve G]

 Outright banned in 1928, from what I can see, Mike.

[MKG]

Of course, it would be 1928, wouldn't it? Why make life simple? 

On the other hand, a 1928 ban would mean that a lot of people had laudanum on their shelves until 1930. OK, I'll assume laudanum for the time being and cogitate a little more.

Mike

[Viktoria]

Well Laudanum is an opiate, so the same family as morphine. I think Laudanum was its commercial name. The Victorians  used it widely and  even gave it to babies when teething. It calmed, relieved pain and promoted sleep. However it was accumulative and gradually built up in the body so a fatal dose could be taken without any intention to commit suicide. Lots of eminent Victorians were addicted to it, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning ,to name but two .
It could be bought just as any other product from the Chemist. I don`t know if it had to be entered in a book as some substances were.
Isn`t this an interesting topic . Very considerate to think about surviving relatives.Cheerio. Viktoria.

[Maggie.]

My Dad was a dispensing chemist and I'm hazy on the detail but I remember he had a poison book where all poisons sold had to be entered up and all poisons and drugs were kept under lock and key.  He practised from 1933 until he retired in his 70s.

I have some old pharmacy recipe books dating from late 19th C - they keep cropping up on various threads.  This thread has prompted me to look at them just now and have found a recipe for Infant's Whooping Cough Mixture containing Belladonna - that's deadly nightshade, there's a 'Pick-Me-Up' containing 'Tinct. Opii' that I assume is an opiate - Tinc. Opii is used a lot, Tinct. Digitalis (foxglove) for asthma and heart problems, morphine is used a lot in cough and chest remedies.

Also, on a seasonal note, I have just found a recipe for making fireworks  .  Perhaps this doesn't help much with Mike's query but I thought it might be of interest.

Maggie

[eadaoin]

my aunt was a pharmacist, and when she retired she brought some old poison bottles with her to her home, to remind her of her pharmacy days.

- on my mantelpiece, I have a beautiful blue bottle, labelled "Tinct. Nucis. Vom." ... it's my pride and joy - it's empty, I hasten to add!

eadaoin

[Maggie.]

Eadaoin - my bottles live on my dresser and are green ridged ones.  My brother got the only blue one.  I have four, and on their red labels it says:-

Tinct: Opii
Tinct: Colchici Poison
Liq: Arsenic: Hyd
Liq: Ammon:

They came from my Dad's pharmacy along with several white glass bottles and some huge brass weighing scales and I wouldn't part with them for the world.

Maggie