HISTORY OF THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC 3400-460 BC 3400 BC - Opium poppy cultivated in lower Mesopotamia 3400 BC Ancient Egypt - Eat poppy seeds to relieve pain Ancient Egypt 460 BC - Hippocrates acknowledged opium's usefulness 460 BC as a narcotic for treating certain diseases 1804 - Morphine isolated from opium 1804 1830 - British dependence on opium reaches 1830 all-time high after importing 22,000 pounds from Turkey and India 1832 - Codeine isolated 1832 1874 - Heroin synthesized from morphine 1874
1800's
1900-1950
1905 - US Congress bans opium 1905 1909 - Congress passed Opium Exclusion Act barring 1909 importation of opium for purposes of smoking 1916 - Oxycodone synthesized with hopes of maintaining 1916 the analgesic effects of heroin and morphine without the dependence 1924 - The Heroin Act deems the importation, 1924 1970 - The Controlled Substance Act consolidated all 1970 manufacture, and possession of opioids illegal in the US regulated prescription drugs to be separated into schedules based on medicinal value, harmfulness, and potential for abuse 1995 - OxyContin approved - ďŹ rst formulation of 1995 oxycodone allowing a controlled, slow-absorbance dose every 12 hours rather than an immediate-rush dose every 4-6 hours
1950-2000
2000-2005 Early 2000s - Early reports of overdose and death from Early 2000s OxyContin rise sharply * Non-medical use increased from 400,000 in 1999 to 1.9 million in 2002 to 2.8 million in 2003 2000-Present - various informational and scientiďŹ c 2000-Present meetings and studies conducted about the abuse potential and possible initiatives designed to ensure safe opioid use 2001 - Additional stronger warnings about potential 2001 misuse added to OxyContin label 2002 - 6.2 million Americans abusing prescription 2002 drugs
2005-Present 2010 - FDA approved new formulation of OxyContin 2010 - designed to deter abuse associated with crushing it 2014 - FDA approved Evzio for emergency treatment of 2014 - known or suspected opioid overdose - uses Naloxone as active ingredient to reverse effects of opioid overdose 2016 - New safety labeling required for immediate2016 - release opioid pain medication