• Home
  • Store
    • Newsletter Subscriptions
    • Multimedia
    • Books
    • eBooks
    • ABPN SA Courses
    • Social Work Courses
  • CME Center
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
    • Blog
    • Psychiatry News Videos
    • Medication Guide Videos
  • Newsletters
    • General Psychiatry
    • Child Psychiatry
    • Addiction Treatment
    • Hospital Psychiatry
    • Geriatric Psychiatry
    • Psychotherapy and Social Work
  • FAQs
  • Med Fact Book App
  • Log In
  • Register
  • Welcome
  • Sign Out
  • Subscribe
Home » Tales from the History of Psychiatry: Opium, an Ancient Psychotropic

Tales from the History of Psychiatry: Opium, an Ancient Psychotropic

September 1, 2016
Marcia Zuckerman, MD
From The Carlat Psychiatry Report
Issue Links: Learning Objectives | Editorial Information | PDF of Issue
Marcia Zuckerman, MD Director of psychiatric services at Walden Behavioral Care in Waltham, MA Dr. Zuckerman has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

These days, opiates are primarily prescribed to treat pain. But there is a long history of using opiates to treat depression and other mental illness. Starting in the 700s, Arabian cultures used opium in mental hospitals in Baghdad, Damascus, Fez, and Cairo that also incorporated milieu therapy such as music, reading, and sexual stimulation. In the Victorian era, Thomas Sydenham popularized Sydenham’s Laudanum, a mixture of opium, sherry, wine, and herbs. Laudanum, which was affordable at 20 or 25 drops for a penny, was used for depression and hysteria, as well as to soothe small children. (The laudanum that is currently available by prescription in the U.S., often known as “tincture of opium,” no longer contains alcohol.) Many of the opium preparations were prescribed for women in response to problems with menstruation and childbirth, as well as “the vapours,” a loose term that included hysteria, depression, mood swings, and fainting. As physicians began to appreciate the risk of addiction with opium preparations, they fell out of favor in the medical establishment, leading to regulation and, essentially, prohibition, in 1914 by the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act. Interestingly, the use of opiates to treat depression may have come full circle. Small research studies (eg, Bodkin JA et al, J Clin Psychopharmacol 1995;15(1):49–57) have shown a benefit for Suboxone, an opiate partial agonist-antagonist in treatment resistant depression, although the risk of addiction and misuse may outweigh the benefits.
General Psychiatry
KEYWORDS addiction substance-abuse
    Marcia Zuckerman, MD

    2024 Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders (For Social Workers)

    More from this author
    www.thecarlatreport.com
    Issue Date: September 1, 2016
    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Table Of Contents
    Treating Complicated Grief: Grief-Focused Psychotherapy Is More Effective Than Citalopram
    Take The CME Post-Test for Pain Management, TCPR, September 2016
    Managing Pain: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapist’s Approach
    Evaluating and Treating Pain in Psychiatric Patients
    Tales from the History of Psychiatry: Opium, an Ancient Psychotropic
    DOWNLOAD NOW
    Featured Book
    • MFB7e_Print_App_Access.png

      Medication Fact Book for Psychiatric Practice, Seventh Edition (2024) - Regular Bound Book

      The updated 2024 reference guide covering the most commonly prescribed medications in psychiatry.
      READ MORE
    Featured Video
    • KarXT (Cobenfy)_ The Breakthrough Antipsychotic That Could Change Everything.jpg
      General Psychiatry

      KarXT (Cobenfy): The Breakthrough Antipsychotic That Could Change Everything

      Read More
    Featured Podcast
    • shutterstock_2622607431.jpg
      General Psychiatry

      Should You Test MTHFR?

      MTHFR is a...
      Listen now
    Recommended
    • Join Our Writing Team

      July 18, 2024
      WriteForUs.png
    • Insights About a Rare Transmissible Form of Alzheimer's Disease

      February 9, 2024
      shutterstock_2417738561_PeopleImages.com_Yuri A.png
    • How to Fulfill the DEA's One Time, 8-Hour Training Requirement for Registered Practitioners

      May 24, 2024
      DEA_Checkbox.png
    • Join Our Writing Team

      July 18, 2024
      WriteForUs.png
    • Insights About a Rare Transmissible Form of Alzheimer's Disease

      February 9, 2024
      shutterstock_2417738561_PeopleImages.com_Yuri A.png
    • How to Fulfill the DEA's One Time, 8-Hour Training Requirement for Registered Practitioners

      May 24, 2024
      DEA_Checkbox.png
    • Join Our Writing Team

      July 18, 2024
      WriteForUs.png
    • Insights About a Rare Transmissible Form of Alzheimer's Disease

      February 9, 2024
      shutterstock_2417738561_PeopleImages.com_Yuri A.png
    • How to Fulfill the DEA's One Time, 8-Hour Training Requirement for Registered Practitioners

      May 24, 2024
      DEA_Checkbox.png

    About

    • About Us
    • CME Center
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us

    Shop Online

    • Newsletters
    • Multimedia Subscriptions
    • Books
    • eBooks
    • ABPN Self-Assessment Courses

    Newsletters

    • The Carlat Psychiatry Report
    • The Carlat Child Psychiatry Report
    • The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report
    • The Carlat Hospital Psychiatry Report
    • The Carlat Geriatric Psychiatry Report
    • The Carlat Psychotherapy Report

    Contact

    carlat@thecarlatreport.com

    866-348-9279

    PO Box 626, Newburyport MA 01950

    Follow Us

    Please see our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Subscription Agreement, Use of Cookies, and Hardware/Software Requirements to view our website.

    © 2025 Carlat Publishing, LLC and Affiliates, All Rights Reserved.