Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the History of Opium Addiction
By Scott Ainslie
The Proceedings of the 10th Annual History of Medicine Days, edited by W. A. Whitelaw (Calgary, 2001)
Abstract: Opium is among a very short list of medications that can claim 3,500 years of therapeutic use. Accounts of the uses and abuses of this infamous drug are dispersed throughout history, from its application as a cure for colic in infants in Ancient Egypt, to a modern-day anaesthetic. Users of the drug include poppers and kings; sources of the drug have been both street-corner merchants, and the most highly acclaimed physicians. Thus, it is not uncommon to encounter new chronicles that implicate users of this mysterious plant extract.
However, it may be surprising to some that a man such as Marcus Aurelius, whose fame and accomplishments have been heralded for nearly two millennia, could have achieved such greatness while being plagued by the ‘disease’ that accompanies the frequent ingestion of opium. Accusations such as this are not to be taken lightly!
This presentation attempts to gather the circumstantial evidence surrounding the proposed vice of this famous Roman Caesar, and to verify it by comparison with known effects of this thoroughly studied narcotic. In support of this claim, I will call upon the writings of Galen (personal physician to Marcus Aurelius) and descriptions of the Emperor as recorded by several of his contemporaries.
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