Two parents listen to the heartbeat of the transplanted heart of their son

 

Two parents listen to the heartbeat of the transplanted heart of their son, who died of an opioid overdose, 2018

Opioids have a long history in mankind's story as they have been used for different purposes in different periods. The earliest uses of opium go back to 3400 BC in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). The people in that area called Poppies (the flower from which opium is extracted) "Hul Gil," which means "plant of joy." Opioids were prescribed by Hippocrates (known as the father of medicine) to his patients for different ailments. Arabs, Greeks, and Romans all used it as a sedative, and even prominent figures from this time, such as Alexander the Great, took opium with him as he expanded his empire. Opium was then traded by merchants and made its way to Europe, where it was used for different purposes, all from medical to psychological. Opioids were mainly used in the West World in the 1800s for medical uses and came in the form of morphine. Doctors used morphine to numb the pain of their patients. A more famous example is during the American civil war, which saw soldiers become addicted to morphine, often leading to heroin addiction (back in those days, you could buy heroin legally in pharmacies). John Pemberton, the man who invented Coca-Cola, had a heroin addiction after serving in the American Civil War and experimented with coca leaves to try to relieve the effects of his addiction. This led to the creation of Coca-Cola, which initially had small amounts of cocaine in it. Today, the western world is in an opioid crisis, with many addicted to opioids such as heroin and fentanyl. Photographer: unknown Source: Micheals House