Since the earliest recorded history, drugs derived
from plants have been used to relieve pain. The most
powerful and widely used of these was opium,
derived from the poppy. Unrefined opium consists of
a gum scraped from pierced poppy buds, which can
be eaten, smoked, or made into a drink. The analgesic
properties of this drug were known to the Sumerians,
who referred to the poppy as “the joy plant.” Their
knowledge was passed to the ancient Egyptians, who
had a flourishing opium trade under the pharaohs
Akhenaten and Tutankhamen. Their Mediterranean
trade routes brought opium to Minoan Crete, where
a poppy goddess appears to have been worshipped.
From Crete, the drug spread to ancient Greece and
subsequently to Rome; the Roman emperor Marcus
Aurelius unwittingly became addicted to opium after
being treated with it by the famous physician Galen.
Opium derivatives and synthetic simulations—
including morphine, codeine, and a variety of modern
creations such as oxycodone and fentanyl— remain
the backbone of chronic and cancer pain management
even today, despite having serious potential side
effects such as gastrointestinal problems, respiratory
difficulty, sedation, and addiction.