Why is it called cold turkey?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
October 18, 2002
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Suggested Reading—>Click here.
Pliny the Elder called it, Papaveris sativi, meaning "cultivated poppy". Linnaeus named it, Papaver somniferum or "poppy bringing sleep". It is the source of opium. Though the plant's name has changed over the centuries, the dried latex was called opium by the Romans and is called opium today.
Twenty-five alkaloids have been identified in opium including morphine and codeine. Morphine and codeine are analgesics and hypnotics first used to treat wounded soldiers during the Franco-Prussian and U.S Civil Wars. Morphine addiction became known as the soldier's disease. According to Walter Lewis and Memory Elvin-Lewis, "Substitutes were sought, and in 1898, with major acclaim, heroin was placed on the market as a harmless, nonaddicting substitution for morphine and codeine." (Medical Botany, 1977)
Heroin is manufactured by the acetylation of morphine. The addition of the acetyl groups to the morphine molecule increases the alkaloid's ability to enter the brain. It is more potent and faster acting than its predecessor. Lewis and Elvin-Lewis explain, "High tolerance develops, and the addict begins to inject heroin not to feel good but to prevent feeling sick."
Recovery from opiate addiction is mental and physical torture. "Kicking the habit" refers to the leg muscle spasms that start about twelve hours after an addict has their last dose of heroin. "Cold turkey" describes the appearance of the skin caused by sudden cessation of opiate use. The muscles underlying the skin contract. It is said to resemble a plucked turkey.
The Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency Institute has an informative web page explaining opiate addiction. To learn more about this tragic condition, click on the link:
http://www.opiateaddictionrx.info/facts/facts.html
Series: | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 | | 6 | | 7 |
Suggested Reading:
What flower caused China to lose Hong Kong? Plants that Changed History - July 15, 2001
What did the beautiful opium poppy give and take away? Herbal Folklore - August 20, 2001
What is LSD? Plants that Changed History - July 15, 2003
What was the First Opium War? Plants that Changed History - October 22, 2002
How did a ban on tobacco lead to opium smoking? Plants that Changed History - October 15, 2002
What was a pain-killer of last resort? Herbal Folklore - October 14, 2002
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