Understanding What is Laudanum
What is Laudanum and why was everyone in the Victorian era so hooked on it?
Laudanum, folks, is not a pop band from the ’80s, it’s a potent opiate concoction that was as mainstream in the 19th century as TikTok dances are today. If you happened to be a Victorian-era individual with a penchant for drama, then laudanum was your “go-to” for just about any ailment—real or imagined.
What was unusual about Laudanum?
In a pre-FDA era, when the bar for “medical remedy” was apparently lower than a cockroach’s belly button, laudanum was freely sold over the counter. You could nab it at the corner chemist next to your mustache wax and corset boning. So, what’s insidious about a medicine, you ask? Laudanum, my dear Victorian friends, was about 10 percent opium. Yes, that’s right. Opium. The poppy derivative best known for, well, sparking the devastating Opium Wars in China.
Who thought doping everyone was a great idea?
Bafflingly, laudanum was concocted by – who else – a Swiss-German alchemist named Paracelsus in the 16th century. A guy who claimed he could transmute lead into gold, yet we trusted him with our health regimes. Laudanum, which Paracelsus charmingly called “the stone of immortality”, quickly became the aspirin of its day – minus, of course, aspirin’s annoying feature of not being massively addictive.
What impact did Laudanum have?
Aside from gifting the 19th century with a society half-asleep on opioids, laudanum inadvertently gave the world fascinating insights into the foggy minds of its users. Ever read Thomas De Quincey’s “Confessions of an English Opium Eater”? All those trippy visions were brought to you courtesy of our dear friend, laudanum.
The unnerving allure of Laudanum
Laudanum, despite its bizarre history, shines a spotlight on humanity’s eternal and often myopic quest for quick fixes. Famous or common, people in Victorian era clung to this dangerous dose, revealing perhaps that our relentless pursuit of comfort often shadows better judgement.
Sources
National Pangaea Network
https://www.nationalpangaeanetwork/laudanum
The Victorian guide to Responsible Drug Use
https://www.victorianresponsibleguide/druguse/laudanum