Two of a collection of prescriptions from local GPs Dr A.H.E Wall and Dr K Christie for the controlled substances solution of cocaine and linctus of heroin. The prescriptions were filled by the pharmacists at M Mark Chemist, 72 Duncan St, Whanganui East. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 1993.14
Two of a collection of prescriptions from local GPs Dr A.H.E Wall and Dr K Christie for the controlled substances solution of cocaine and linctus of heroin. The prescriptions were filled by the pharmacists at M Mark Chemist, 72 Duncan St, Whanganui East. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 1993.14
The road to health can be treacherous at times, and sometimes a new ‘cure’ turns out to be a curse.
Arsenic and mercury were once liberally used to cure syphilis and skin conditions. Smoking was recommended for everything from repelling plague to alleviating toothaches. And health-seekers could visit spas for treatments with irradiated air and water. All this, we know today, causes more harm than good.
A collection of prescriptions in the Whanganui Regional Museum collection illustrate another story of cure-to-curse.
The prescriptions were redeemed between 1939 - 1940 at M Mark Chemist at 72 Duncan St in Whanganui East. They include the usual treatments of analgesics, antiseptics and various ointments prescribed by local doctors. Some, however, were written on different forms with a “Poison Regulations 1937″ letterhead for prescriptions of solution of cocaine and linctus of heroin.
The Erythroxylum coca plant, native to South America, had been used for hundreds of years by indigenous peoples, who chewed the leaves to relieve hunger and tiredness. It was first recorded by Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci in the 15th century. In 1860, German chemist Albert Niemann isolated the active chemical in the leaves.
The substance affected the nervous system and became a common anaesthetic from the 1880s, proving extremely effective at temporarily blocking nerve impulses. Applied topically, cocaine hydrochloride solution was ideal for minor surgeries and allowed procedures to be undertaken with minimal pain.
Besides numbness and a euphoric feeling, side effects included dangerous increases in heart rate and blood pressure, narrowing blood vessels and addiction.
A bottle of Gatenby's cough syrup. This glass bottle was manufactured for RM Gatenby of Whanganui in the late 19th to early 20th century and contained cough syrup, a common ingredient of which at the time was linctus heroin. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 2010.51.106
Cocaine was readily available and used in homemade and store-bought medicaments, but World War I changed attitudes. The war affected cocaine supplies and, therefore, costs increased. More importantly, stories of the “white devil” increased as soldiers and civilians became addicted to cocaine’s ability to numb physical and emotional pain. The supply problems stabilised after the war and addiction continued to increase.
Heroin was another wonder drug created by Bayer & Co in 1898, a chemically-modified morphine solution that was stronger, cheaper and tasted better in syrups. It was administered freely as pain relief and used as a cough suppressant, but it wasn’t long before professionals noticed that repeated usage built up tolerance and addiction in the patient. The lure of the poppy was a frequent feature of early 20th-century newspaper reports, with accounts of addicts becoming seriously ill or dying from overuse of the drug, particularly intravenously.
Concern for the addictive nature of heroin and cocaine saw international treaties to limit the production, distribution and use of the drugs. The 1927 Dangerous Drugs Act and the 1937 Poison Regulations were introduced, making New Zealand comply with the obligations of the Geneva Convention and the League of Nations. The laws restricted the prescription of the medicines, aiming to keep them under control of the medical community and out of the open market.
But by 1947, New Zealand had one of the highest rates of linctus of heroin use per head of population in the world, and a United Nations committee demanded that the New Zealand government explain. An investigation revealed at least 50 people in New Zealand were addicted to opioids because of the over-prescription of heroin-based cough linctus, so the laws around supply and use were overhauled again.
These days, versions of cocaine and heroin are still used in some medications but are strictly limited and controlled, and the medical community is continually working to treat our bodies safely without causing damage.
* Sandi Black is the archivist at Whanganui Regional Museum.
