ABSTRACT
Morphine (named after Morpheus, the god of dreams), was first derived from opium in 1803. In 1843, Alexander Woodin invented the hypodermic needle, thereby laying the necessary foundation for the drug addiction that is often thought to be such a typically 20th-century problem. The history of opiate addiction stretches back over thousands of years, but it is only very recently that the problem has assumed its current form.
