| History of Codeine |
 |
| Codeine was first extracted from opium (an addictive drug prepared from the juice of a poppy, used as a narcotic and a pain killer in medicine) by a French chemist, Pierre-Jean Robiquet in 1832. The dependency of codeine throughout the years has not been constant however it is the most widely used narcotic for medicinal purposes. |
| A main cause for the dependency of codeine is and was war. Codeine is the most injected pain reliever. Throughout the civil war era, WWI, and WWII codeine was used on soldiers who suffered from battle wounds. When they continued to receive injections or tablets of codeine in the war hospitals their body’s became dependent and by the time the war was over they suffered from withdrawals and/or addiction. For the civil war codeine was most commonly injected (see needle in civil war medical kit) for soldiers who needed immediate relief from injuries. |
| Civil War Medical Kit |
| Internationally, the legality issue of it has caused trouble in Germany and because of its close relation with morphine. For the most parts throughout the world codeine is a legal over-the-counter drug however in places like the United States, United Nations and Germany, it is only available as a prescription drug. |
| 1 |
| 1.http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= nmhm.washingtondc.museum/exhibits/nations wounds/imgs/kit_lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://nmhm. washingtondc.museum/exhibits/nationswounds/ evacuation.html&h=264&w=397&prev=/images %3Fq%3Dcivil%2Bwar%2Bhospitals%26svnum %3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF -8%26oe%3DUTF-8 |